The Reluctant Angeleno

Why I Voted for "The Artist" as Best Picture

2012-02-23T23:08:00.000-08:00

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OK7pfLlsUQM

I have seen it three times:
January 16, 2012, 4:00pm
Landmark Theater

10580 West Pico Blvd.

Los Angeles, 90064

January 30, 2012, 7:30pm
TV Academy

5230 Lankershim Blvd.

North Hollywood, 91601

A screening followed by a question and answer with writer/director Michel
Hazanavicius, star Jean Dujardin, actor James Cromwell, costume designer
Mark Bridges, and production designer Laurence Bennett.

February 7, 2012, 7:30pm

Directors Guild Theater, #1

7920 W. Sunset Blvd.

Los Angeles, 90046

A screening followed by a question and answer with executive producer Richard

Middleton, executive producer Antoine De Cazotte, director of photography
Guillaume Schiffman, costume designer Mark Bridges and production designer
Laurence Bennett.

"A Masterpiece"

At the Directors Guild Theater, as I scrambled to permit a dowdy sixty year-old
woman sitting next to me make her way to the bathroom, she murmured, "As a
member of the Academy, I see two hundred pictures a year." She returned and
we sat in silence throughout viewing "The Artist." When it ended, spontaneously
she exclaimed "A masterpiece." I buy that!

Is "The Artist" a French film or a Hollywood film?
Because it was made in Hollywood, it qualifies as an American made film
and can be considered for Oscars; however, it clearly demonstrates French
style and sensibility. Film credits abound with American names, but no American
director could have conceived of making a silent film today. When asked why
he chose to make a silent film, writer/director Michel Hazanavicius said that
it was the logical way deal with the film's themes: the end of the silent film
era, the birth of sound movies and the consequences that ensued. Asked if
he would make another silent film, Michel Hazanavicius' reply was emphatically
negative. "The Artist" is not a tour de force nor a gimmick. Hazanavicius sought
to evoke nostalgia during a moment of crucial transition in the history of motion
pictures. Thus, a silent film in aHollywood setting.

Rather than a blunt exposition, he chose to create a credible fantasy in which
we are witness to the vicissitudes of stardom, an often told tale. Hazanavicius
is a product of the French school of "auteur" filmmaking in which a director
is granted license (generally within the bounds of commercial viability) to
express oneself.

So what do I know about Hollywood films?
In the 50s and 60s, I managed to have contact with some of the great directors

of that period: Vincent Minnelli, Rouben Mamoullian, George Stevens and Fred
Zinnemann.

Vincent Minnelli got Best Picture for "An American in Paris," in 1951
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FiiaJRXPAm4

and " Gigi" in 1958.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEofRODHZ1w

George Stevens got Best Director for "A Place in Sun," in 1952
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEuFNnJSIw8
and Best Director for "Giant" in 1956.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2x6AT4mr3o

Fred Zinnemann got Best Director
for "From Here to Eternity" in 1953
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_reftTX0Ayg

These films were grand epics, solidly produced and refined in detail. The casts
provided outstanding performances. These films continue to resonate for me as
demonstrations of some of the best that Hollywood has to offer. There is no
question that episodic changes in style occur in every creative medium. Perhaps
my taste in films is stuck in the 50s and 60s, or perhaps films of this era
demonstrate a cohesion seldom found today?

Filmmaking aside, I had a modest impact in Hollywood at this time. Returning
from a trip to Italy with a home espresso maker, I told Rouben Mamoulian's wife
about it. She wanted one. I sent one to her and can make the dubious claim that I
introduced the first home espresso maker to Hollywood.

What do I know about French films?
I am a fan of Godard and am familiar with the films of the other directors of
Nouvelle Vague fame. Over the last forty years, I have probably seen twice as
many French and Italian films than American films. Rather than knowledge
of films, my expertise regarding France stems more from everyday experience.
While in graduate school, I would hang out in Paris, sitting in Deux Magots
on the Boulevard St. Germain with a Galoise dangling from my lip, waiting
for Sartre or Simone de Beauvoir to appear. Over the years, I got to know Paris
well enough to lead a group of New York architects, planners and city officials
around examining Paris as an evolving global city. I even wrote an article in
French that appeared in Libération.

What do I know about French sensibility as it applied to "The Artist?"
This has to be a personal and subjective judgement, but I am willing to take a
shot at it. I see "The Artist," not in universal terms, but as a manifestation of
French style in its ability to elevate the mundane to more "heroic" terms.
Perhaps this might explain the enduring universal appeal of Antoine de St.
Exupéry's novella The Little Prince. For me, "The Artist" resonates a similar
appeal; however, its appeal is not in fantasy. Rather than fantasy, its appeal
can be seen as a parable (success is ephemeral) for everyone.

Art Versus Commerce / Commerce Versus Art
When the Weinstein Company enters the picture, the fine line between art
and commerce frays; however, that is not to say that is necessarily bad.
The flood of newspaper ads, the multiple screenings, the tv appearances,
and YouTube trailer all contribute to selling "the product."

My Oscar predictions
It is an irresistible masterpiece. It is going to get Best Picture and Best
Director (Michel Hazanavicius), Best Leading Actor (Jean Dujardin),
and possibly more.

Footnote
I am not a member of The Academy nor any of the guilds. However, I fit
the LA Times' recently published demographic for Academy members. I
am Caucasian and over sixty.

My Take on How Los Angeles Invented the World

2011-12-03T21:04:00.000-08:00

On November 19, 2011, a program entitled "How Los Angeles Invented the World," was presented at The Getty Center as an event associated with Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA. 1945-1980.
http://www.pacificstandardtime.org/
A shuffled replay of this event can be seen:
http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepublicsquare/2011/11/20/was-ever-a-city-more-bewildering/read/the-takeaway/

In a previous blog post, I criticized the organizers of "How Los Angeles Invented the World" for presenting a program without significant content that veered toward boosterism.

So, here's my take. There is no question that Los Angeles has and continues to make contributions to our global society in two principle areas: the entertainment industry and the space program. Being more familiar with cultural history, I will begin with the entertainment industry.

LA Invented the Academy Awards

In 2010, approximately 41,300,000 people watched the Academy Awards in the
United States. One night, once a year, lasting 3.5 hours, the eyes and ears of the
world are focused on Los Angeles. There is no other place on earth commanding
that kind of attention on an annual basis. It is in the arena of mass communication
culture that LA has invented a new world. So, what are the Oscar attractions? It
offers mesmerizing presentations of fashion, glamour, fame and celebrity. Did LA
invent fashion, glamour, fame and celebrity? No, they have been around for a long
time; however, LA has turned them into global mass market commodities.

Suggested panelist: Dawn Hudson, CEO, The Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences.

Fashion, glamour, fame and celebrity in Ancient Rome

Ancient Rome was awash with all of these personal attributes. The most famous person of this era and its most enduring celebrity was Cleopatra, a Hellenistic Egyptian woman of noble heritage whose life was entwined with, among others, two Roman leaders: Julius Caesar and Marc Antony. In their Preface to the 2001 catalogue of The British Museum exhibition, "Cleopatra of Egypt," Susan Walker and Peter Higgs ask, "Who's my Cleopatra?', for it is abundantly clear that there are many Cleopatras (an ambivalence encouraged in her lifetime by the queen) ..." For the less historically minded and more Hollywood influenced, the answer to "Who's my Cleopatra?" would be Elizabeth Taylor.

Top image: Cleopatra, bronze 80 drachma coin, Alexandria, 51-30 BCE. Below: Elizabeth Taylor as Cleopatra, 1963.

Suggested panelist: a curator from the Getty Villa.

The Movies Come to Hollywood

Cecil B. DeMille on the running board with some of the actors in his movie, The Squaw Man, 1914. DeMille left New York with cast and crew prepared to make the film in Flagstaff, Arizona. When they arrived, they found the scenery unsuitable, so they headed for Hollywood, thus accelerating the development of the motion picture industry.

In the 19th century, traditional culture, theatre and symphony performances, found
an audience in the educated upper class and arriviste bourgeoisie. With the emergence
of an industrial consumer society in the late 19th century, the birth of the urban
working class heralded a new social phenomenon; there were no precedents providing
entertainments for this expanding population. Vaudeville and its companion, burlesque,
first seen in store front theatres, emerged as low-priced forms of entertainment accesible
to all classes. Vaudeville theatres catered to the broad masses as well as to audiences of
traditional theatres and concert halls. Penny arcades and nickelodeons, where primitive
motion pictures were shown, catered to similar audiences. All four, served as incubators
for the motion picture industry which initiated the era of industrialized entertainments.
As a footnote, throughout the 1930s, films, as attractions, did not stand on their own;
vaudeville acts served as an introduction to film showings.

Suggested panelist: David Nasaw, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. Professor of History,

The Graduate Center, City University of New York, author of Going Out: The Rise and

Fall of Public Entertainments.

The Creation of Celebrity Culture

Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh, Gone With The Wind, 1939.

Celebrity, as we know it today, is a product of our consumer oriented industrial society. Each new technology has made its contribution: telegraph, telephone, motion pictures, recorded sound, radio, television and the internet. As new forms of entertainment have evolved, they have spawned an army of supporting promotional entities: agents, publicists, columnists and fan publications serving intoxicated public appetite for identification with fame.

The Walk of Fame, Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, 2011.

A Hollywood product, Desi Arnaz and Lucille Ball in their highly successful sitcom television series, "I Love Lucy," 1955. At the time, it was one of the most watched tv shows in America. Reruns are still seen by 40 million Americans each year.

Michael Jackson personified, the ultimate "pop music star." This album was issued in 2008 on the occasion of this 50th birthday. It was released in 26 countries.

American Idol: The Search for a Superstar, is currently the most-watched show on American television. It began in 2002. As an adaptation of a British tv program, it did not originate in Los Angeles; however, it was identified with Los Angeles in its infancy.

Suggested panelist: Maureen Orth, author, critic and Vanity Fair columnist. In her book, The Importance of Being Famous, she talks about "The DNA of Fame," and "The Celebrity - Industrial
Complex."

Space Technology

Landing on the Moon, 1969

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), headquartered in Pasadena, is managed by the California Institute of Technology for NASA. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was the birthplace of the American space program and plays a prominent role in its continuation. http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/

The Laboratory's primary function is the construction and operation of robotic planetary spacecraft, though it also conducts Earth-orbit and astronomy missions. Among the Laboratory's current projects are a mission to Saturn and the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Suggested moderator: : K. Anthony Appiah, is currently the Laurance S. Rockefeller University Professor of Philosophy at Princeton University. He is a philosopher, cultural theorist and novelist.

CONCLUSION: I believe that above panel addresses the issue of "How LA

Invented the World," and would provide the audience with some thoughts

worth considering and discussing further. It is not planned as an entertainment,

rather as encouraging intellectual speculation.

Occupy LA Rebounds Mightily

2011-12-01T00:18:00.000-08:00

I just returned from the post-police raid Occupy LA General
Assembly which convened, with permission from the mayor,
at 7:30pm on the west steps of City Hall. Approximately 200
people sat on the steps in clusters of ten, forming some 20
affinity groups with the same agenda: "what do we do next?"

When it came time for reports from each group, there was
no rehashing the events of the previous day. Every person
who spoke was clear, focused and articulate. They accepted
dismantling the City Hall encampment as signaling the need
to move forward in different directions. One common theme
emerged from virtually every report - the need to decentralize
and reach out to neighborhoods across LA taking the "we are
the 99%" message to as many people as possible.

Because some familiar faces were missing, there must have
been a previous decision for certain people to get arrested
while others did not in order to have a core group who could
maintain momentum. Apparently, the need for horizontal
decision-making must have been abandoned temporarily.

I left this meeting more hopeful than ever before recognizing
that the Occupy LA movement is not only resilient, it is dynamic.

LAPD Removes Occupy LA from City Hall Park

2011-11-30T16:50:00.000-08:00

Above: Sunday evening, November 28, three thousand people
gather in support of Occupy LA at its site in City Hall Park. Not
visible, I am seated on the ground behind the woman in the rose
colored sweater in the center left. Below: In the wake of the LAPD
raid the night before, on Wednesday morning, November 30, a
sanitation worker is clearing the steps in front of City Hall.

What Occupy LA Meant to Me
I am chagrined to see it disappear - hopefully momentarily. For
me, it represented a breath of fresh air in our society which has
been overwhelmed by greed and indifference. Occupy LA was
one of many such encampments around the globe inspired by
Occupy Wall Street in Lower Manhattan. The movement's slogan,
"We are the 99%," resonated and needed no explanation. For
everyone, there was no question of "which side you are on."
Those of us who would welcome social change were inspired;
those who want to see the imbalance continue were threatened.
Social revolutions are long term affairs: evolving, contracting
and finally blossoming.

There is no question in my mind that we are seeing only the
beginning of the Occupy movement that might morph into
something more enduring. Although the Occupy movements
disdain vertical leadership, there is a cadre of people called
"point persons," who have emerged with knowledge and
experience; hopefully, they will not disappear, nor will they be
co-opted by the system that they abhor. Organized labor, which
has been marginalized, sees a potential for itself in aligning
with the Occupy movements. Hopefully, together they will be
able to sustain the momentum that has evolved to date. However,
I fear that the repressive apparatus of the FBI and Homeland
Security clearly wants to extinguish any vestige of the occupy
movement. Hopefully, they will not succeed. I sense that we are
moving into a period of dramatic and exciting social change which
will influence the lives of generations to come.

While it lasted, Occupy LA was an integral part of my life and
consequently, my wife, Mary's life. (Below, Mary is not sleeping;
she is relaxed in reverie.)

For us, Occupy LA symbolized the idealism of the hippie movement
of the 60s and 70s which was so identified with our lives.

Adopting a logo design by Tracy Fink, I was able to get
American Apparel to provide us with 200 printed tee
shirts. They disappeared in five minutes.

How Los Angeles Invented the World

2011-11-22T21:36:00.000-08:00

January 19, 2011 at The Getty Center
A program of Pacific Standard Time: Art in LA. 1945-1980
http://www.pacificstandardtime.org/

A shuffled replay of this event can be seen: http://zocalopublicsquare.org/thepublicsquare/2011/11/20/was-ever-a-city-more-bewildering/read/the-takeaway/

Panel One - How Los Angeles Created the Good Life

There were three panelists and a moderator - dull / pedantic academics who,
except for one, the curator of photographs at The Huntington Library, exhibited
the enthusiasm of dead fish. The Huntington curator was allowed to show two
photos similar to the one below which demonstrated the innovative Southern
California indoor/outdoor informal life style of the post World War II period
which has since been adapted across America.

Of the three panel discussions, this is the only one which addressed the theme:
"How Los Angeles Invented the World."

Had The Huntington photo curator been allowed to play two minutes of The
Mammas and the Papas "California Dreamin" as an accompaniment to her slides -

" all the leaves are brown
And the sky is grey

I went for a walk

On a winter's day

I'd be safe and warm

If i was in l.a.

California dreamin'

On such a winter's day"

there would have been no need for anyone to say another word. The audience
would have been spared thirty minutes of boredom.

Unfortunately, no one mentioned another Pacific Standard Time event, an
excellent exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, "California
Design, 1930-1965: Living in a Modern Way," which documents in well-
organized detail the work of the artists and designers who contributed to this
new vision.
http://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/californiadesign

Granted that LA today is one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the world,
it was hard to figure out why ethnicity entered the picture. East coast cities like
New York and Philadelphia, plus midwestern Chicago, had long ago established
America's urban multiculturalism with its concomitant ability to accomodate
minority cultures. It took a question from the audience to draw attention to the
long burning issue of restrictive housing codes that were endemic in pre-World
War II LA neighborhoods - with the exception of Boyle Heights which embraced

a highly diverse population of immigrants including Jews, Japanese and Mexicans.

At the conclusion of this session, I don't think that anyone in the audience had
learned a thing about "How Los Angeles Created the Good Life" that he/she did
not already know.

Panel Two - How Life Imitated Art

Because of all the local boosterism, I thought that I had been parachuted into a
luncheon of the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce; however, I loved every minute
of this one. It was loaded with an incredible group of extremely talented people
who live and work in LA. For them, LA serves as an ideal background for films,
which is their business. They were: director William Friedkin, critic Richard Schickel,
critic Kenneth Turan, and writer/director Thom Andersen. Reed Johnson of the
Los Angeles Times was moderator. They considered the inherent instability of the
environment to be one of LA's challenging attributes. Although they alluded to an
LA sensibility, they did not define it. They contrasted the LA image of optimism
with the LA noir image, which they considered equally valid. For them, "Blade
Runner" was an iconic LA film.

Had they addressed the announced theme, "How Los Angeles Invented the World,"
they might have expanded on their contention that Hollywood is the world capital of
film. Had they addressed the announced theme, they might have brought attention to
celebrity culture, the chief product manufactured in LA. There were allusions to
television and cable, but no mention of tv commercials, a local product that influences
more attitudes than movies. Had they addressed the announced theme, they might have
alluded to the space program which was born in Pasadena, a part of Greater LA.

Panel Three - The Past and the Future of LA's Global Image

Another luncheon at the Indianpolis Chamber of Commerce with a panel of brilliant,
creative people. Warren Olney of KCRW was moderator. Panelists were: director
Wim Wenders, director John Singelton, essayist Richard Rodriguez and architect
Eric Owen Moss. How can you not love and enjoy a gab fest with such people? I
don't think that they addressed the announced themes any more so than the previous
panelists, and I don't think that I retain any great ideas expounded here, but, again,
I loved every minute of it.

My conclusions

It is not easy to run a panel discussion with a bunch of high-powered independent
people; however, there are some methodologies that are often used to keep panelists
focused on the themes to be discussed. I had a good time, but I would have learned
more, which is the reason that I went, if there had been some thematic discipline
evident. It was great entertainment, but not a lot of learning!

This event reinforced New York intellectuals' perception of LA as a place where
entertainment predominates and substance is slight. Overall, I would say that the
organizers of this event blew it. They failed to make a case that LA is beyond fluff.

LA Trumps New York Big Time!

2011-10-16T08:47:00.000-07:00

While Mayor Bloomberg and Brookfield Properties joust in feeble attempts to preserve
their tattered images at the expense of the Occupy Wall Street demonstrators in
Downtown Manhattan's Zuccotti Park, there is a different story playing out in LA. In
sharp contrast, LA's mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, personally passed out ponchos to the
demonstrators encamped on the grounds of City Hall when it rained. The LA City
Council voted in support of the encampment. The police cooperate because they have
identified their collective bargaining rights with issues raised by the protesters.

Around 5:00pm on Thursday, October 13, I made my first visit to the
Occupy LA site. Straying from the sidewalk into a cluster of tents, I
introduced myself to a young man sitting by himself in one of three
folding canvas chairs embracing a small propane stove. Asking if I
could join him, he welcomed me introducing himself as Stiles. I
thought that he might be African American; however, he hails from
South São Paolo, Brazil. He said that he was now 21, had entered
college at the age of fourteen and received an M.A. degree before he
was 20. He described his occupation as a "street fighter," a person who
fights with his fists and knives while others bet on the combattants. It
appeared that Stiles had been in LA before and spoke unaccented English
because his father is an American.

While we were talking, I got a call on my cell phone. It was someone calling
to request money for the Yale Graduate School Alumni Fund. In the past, I
had given the munificent sum of $50. I agreed to repeat it. I informed Stiles
of my conversation and said to myself, "If I can afford to donate $50 to Yale,
I can certainly afford to spend $50 on food for these people." So, I told Stiles
that I would return with pasta. I went to the nearest supermarket, got two cans
of San Marzano tomatoes, two pounds of Barilla linguine, a container of grated
Parmesan cheese, a sliced French bread, two bags of grapes, some bottled
water, paper plates, plus plastic knives and forks. I returned to my apartment to
cook. About forty minutes later, I headed out the door. When I got to the City Hall
park lawn, I stopped in a no parking zone, jumped out of the car and found Stiles.
He and I transported the food to his space. I departed to park the car and hoped to
share my prepared meal with Stiles and his comrades. When I returned, all of the
food was gone. I would have enjoyed eating with them, but was pleased that I had
contributed something. I departed and went home to make some pasta for myself.

Being unable to resist the magnetism of the encampment, I returned on Friday
and met some of Stiles' neighbors. Kevin introduced himself as the former chief
engineer at Halliburton. He tangled with Dick Cheney and left to lead an
unconventional life. Utilizing his management skills, he determined that when the
snow flies in the East, Occupy protesters will migrate to LA. He has obtained
permission to use the "not a cornfield" state park north of Chinatown for the
overflow when they arrive.

Having learned of my background, Kevin asked if I could assist him in creating
a logo. I said that I could not design it myself, but would find a graphic designer
sympathetic to the cause who could do it. I have already moved in that direction.

Departing from my adopted friends' enclave, I went to the fountain to listen to
the proceedings of the nightly "General Assembly." There was prolonged
discussion of how to handle food donations from individuals like myself. The
LA Department of Health did not want to allow these food donations to be
served from the communal food kitchen because there was no way to ascertain
their quality. Everyone who had something to say was given the opportunity to
speak. Finally, there was a consensus vote indicating that gifts of food could be
accepted by individuals, but not served from the communal food kitchen. Next
a young man spoke with passion on the issue of the accepted nomenclature for
Mexican Americans. He said that he did not want to be called "Latino" or
"Hispanic," because those terms were invented by the media. He said that the
land on which we were standing was once Mexico and saw himself as identified
with what had been Mexican territory. Therefore, he wanted to be called
"Mexican American." There was no further discussion. I certainly respect what
this young man was saying and will follow his lead.

I was back again on Saturday. As I traversed the whole encampment, I had
a revelation. For as long as I can remember, I have been demonstrating against
America's involvement in foreign wars. During the anti-Viet Nam War
protests, both I and my wife, and sometimes our kids, marched down Fifth
Avenue in New York - time and again. We went to Washington where we were
harassed and gassed. We were members of an angry contingent wanting to
condem our government's policies. Ram Dass, a former Harvard professor
who joined Timothy Leary in his LSD experiments, became a proponent of
Eastern religions. He asked: "How could people be so angry when they want
peace." When the Viet Nam War ended, we went to Washington to celebrate.
People were smoking dope on The Mall and skinny dipping in the reflecting
pool. Joy had displaced anger.

The vibes at Occupy LA remind me of that end of the war celebration. Frustration
and disappointment are evident, but I have yet to feel any pangs of anger. Granted
that it is a different generation with a totally different mind set, I think that
something else is happening. In the Cold War, Russia was the enemy. In the Viet
Nam War, it was the Viet Cong. The distraction of foreign wars is known to be
used as tool of repressive governments to deceive their citizens. The focus of Occupy
LA and the other "Occupy" demonstrations around the world is not external; it is
the excessive greed of one per cent of the population. The demonstrators see the
enemy within. Their complaint is that is that our hi-tech consumer society has been
corrupted by greed and they are being excluded from the benefits of abundance that
our society generates. There is no longer any camouflage. Paul Krugman in The New
York Times, William Reich on NPR and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont describe
this disparity with eloquence.

I am intoxicated with Occupy LA. Later this morning I am returning to participate
in erecting a sukkah for the Jewish harvest celebration of Sukkoth.

The Birth, the Death and the Rebirth of Mass Transit in Los Angeles

2011-07-02T15:04:00.000-07:00

The Birth
"Los Angeles County has been served by public transit since 1873. During this time, at least 220 private and public companies have operated transit systems that have included horse cars, incline railways, steam trains, electric street cars, interurban cars, trolley busses, and gas or diesel busses."
METRO LOS ANGELES TRAVEL HISTORY
http://www.metro.net/about/library/about/home/los-angeles-transit-history/
Surface transportation networks totaling more than 1,000 miles were built. As in other American cities, public transportation entrepreneurs such as Henry E. Huntington, patron of the arts, were also real estate developers. He purchased undeveloped land, introduced electrical power and built homes which contributed to an evolving suburban Los Angeles.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry E Huntington
Below is a map of Huntington's Pacific Electric Railway interurban transportation system plus a photograph of one of its iconic "red cars" that carried passengers and freight from one end of Los Angeles to the other. It was the armaturee of the region's growth.

While Pacific Electric's interurban cars blanketed the region, equally important was Huntington's Los Angeles Railway, (yellow cars) an urban transportation system operating 1,350 cars on 20 lines. It served Downtown Los Angeles connecting it with the urban neighborhoods on its periphery.

The "yellow car" trolleys were gradually replaced by busses; the last streetcar went out of service in 1963.

The Death

Although Los Angeles might have been able to boast boast that it had created one of the nation's most effective public transportation systems, by the mid-1950s, it was seen as garbage. Below is a view of the giant National Metals and Steelscrap yard on Terminal Island in Jim Walker's 1957 photo.

Post World War II America was intoxicated with freeways. Armed with eminent domain, transportation planners reinvented this country with asphalt as its king.Implicit in this evil scenario were the commanding forces of the automobile industry, the petroleum industry and the automobile tire manufacturers. The Interstate Highway System was sold as providing "national defense" should the Soviet Union invade. President Dwight D. Eisenhower championed this effort and his name was attached to the highway system.

Los Angeles's suburban "car" culture was promoted as the wave of the future for all of America.Over the next thirty years, freeways and suburban developments transformed the American landscape: urban and rural. Viable city centers were eviscerated with expressways; farmlands were bulldozed into a monoculture of suburban housing developments interspersed with shopping malls.

Above: A Los Angles freeway. Below: A Los Angeles suburban housing development.

The Rebirth / Chapter One

Although it might be difficult to prove any direct connection, there was a rising environmental consciousness drifting across America in the 1960s and 1970s. As a result of the Sierra Club's success in blocking the Bureau of Reclamation's construction of two dams in the Grand Canyon, "the environment" became a buzz word. In 1963, the United States Congress passed the Clean Air Act; it was subsequently amended, and in 1977, Congress passed the Toxic Substance Control Act.

In l976, the California State Legislature enacted Assembly Bill #1246 creating the Los Angeles County Transportation System Commision to oversee public transit and highway policy. It is credited with the construction of the Metro Blue Line, Metro Red Line, Metro Green Line and Metro Gold Line. Metrolink began operations in 1992 through partial funding from LACTC.

In 1993, the State implemented a merger of the SCRTD and LACTC, to form the current organization, LACMTA, Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Bits and pieces of a regional transportation grid began to emerge, See map below. (It can be enlarged by opening the link.)

1990 - Long Beach - Los Angeles Metro Blue Line opened.
1993 - Metro Red Line, Segment 1 opened.
1995 - Metro Green Line opened.
1996 - Metro Red Line, Segment 2a opened.
1999 - Metro Red Line, Segment 2b- opened.
2000 - Metro Red Line, Segment 3 - opened
2003 - Metro Gold Line opened.
2005 - Metro Orange Line opened.
2008 - "Bring Back Broadway" initiative with its Streetcar project announced.
2009 - Metro Gold Line Eastside Extension opened.
2011 - Metro Exposition Line, Phase 1, scheduled completion.
2012 - Metro Exposition Line, service to Venice/Robertson station scheduled.
2018 - Metro Regional Connector, (See map below.) scheduled to be completed.
Located Downtown, it will connect the Blue and Expo Lines to the Gold Line and Union Station.
????? - "Subway to the Sea," conditions are not sufficiently clear to predict when trains will be operating to Santa Monica.

http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/maps/1992_400_mile_metro_rail_plan_map.jpg

Passengers boarding a Metro Red Line train at Seventh and Figueroa.

The Regional Connector.

The Rebirth / Chapter Two

Ostensibly, transportation improvements might appear to be on autopilot; however, this is hardly the case. The economy, local, regional, state and national politics will all have their impact. In 2007, Move LA, an organization dedicated to supporting local transportation initiatives, built a coalition of business, labor and environmental organizations to identify and secure new funds for transportation investments in Los Angeles County. A January 2008, a Move LA conference served as the launching pad for Measure R, a one half cent sales tax that would provide $40 million for transportation projects in Los Angeles County over the next 30 years. In November 2008, Los Angeles County voters approved Measure R with a 67.22% margin, a hair above the California State requirement of 2/3 support for new taxes. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa championed this initiative and has emerged to play a leading role in national transportation policies.

Move LA spearheaded the National Infrastructure Development Bank and its associated 30/10 Plan which could lead to the completion of all Los Angeles' 12 Measure R transit projects in 10 years rather than 30 years. Mayor Villaraigosa and his staff, working with Metro staff, refined the program into a legislative package known as Move LA's 30/10 Plan. Subsequently, this plan was endorsed by Senators Boxer and Feinstein, the LA Metro Board and Richard Trumka, President of AFL-CIO, among others. An innovative funding methodology emerged. Rather than wait for Federal grant monies which might or might not be delivered, Move LA conceived of a plan to obtain credit assistance and tax code incentives which reduced the cost of borrowing and accelerated the delivery of construction funds.

On June 21, I attended Move LA's all-day conference, "A Bigger Vision: Moving LA Fast Forward." The breadth of participants was staggering: local, state and regional transportation, local, state and regional government, business, labor, environment, housing, bicyclists, and neighborhood leaders. It was clear that everyone shared the same objective: to accelerate the construction of LA's much needed transportation projects as rapidly as possible.

Implementing these mass transit objectives is critical to the future of Los Angeles. As the world continues to become increasingly urbanized, Los Angeles must be remain competitive.

The above diagram indicates world population growth between 1950 and 2005. During this period, the world's population tripled reaching 3.15 billion. Cities in the developing world are growing rapidly. By 2020, 77% of the world's population is expected to live in cities in developed countries. Individual mobility demands can be satisfied most efficiently in urban areas. The Los Angeles expanding transportation system is going to assist this region in coping with the demands of increasing new populations as they arrive.

Getting back to Move LA's all-day conference, LA Metro CEO, Art Leahy, said that the had taken the Gold Line from Pasadena to Union Station and walked up the Temple Street hill to Cathedral Plaza, the site of the conference. I, too, took the Gold Line to Union Station, transfered to the Blue Line and got off at City Hall. Then I walked up Tempe Street hill. As I walked, I did not find any compatriots. I saw a continuous line of cars entering the Cathedral parking garage. At the Move LA conference, I wanted to ask if anyone else had taken public transportation; however, I was afraid to raise the issue for fear of injecting a dissident note because it was apparent that few had.

Then, I saw Green T - Tamara Henry, with her large red STOP sign describing her 1hour and 35 minute bus ride from Venice to Downtown LA, She made the point much more effectively than I could.

Follow this link to Tamar's detailed report on the June 21, event. Move LA - Moving LA Fast Forward

As the conference ended, I was walking down the stairs with LA Metro CEO, Art Leahy, and told him how much I liked the LA subways because they reminded me of New York. He said, "I hate New York!"

ART IN THE STREETS / A SEMINAL BLOCKBUSTER

2011-05-22T19:04:00.000-07:00

THE GEFFEN CONTEMPORARY AT LA MOCA
April 17 - August 8, 2011

My exhibition experience!

It was great! Visually stimulating! Provocative! Challenging! Vibrant! Joyous! Satisfying! Humorous at times, and often confusing in terms of location and what I was seeing. As I looked around the gallery, I sensed that others were experiencing similar reactions. While moving slowly through the chronology section, I spoke to a young woman who shared my enthusiasm. Later I asked one of the guards for his evaluation of visitors' reactions; he assured me that what I was experiencing reflected the sentiments of the vast majority of the crowd.

Here is a link to photographs of some of the works in the exhibition

From Jeffrey Deitch's introduction to the exhibition catalogue

"Arguably the most influential art movement since Pop, graffiti—as we know it today—was invented by teenagers. The convergence of street art and graffiti styles that emerged from housing projects, subway yards, and bleak suburban parking lots has become a global phenomenon. It continues to thrive and evolve forty years after it began.

"The strongest artistic innovations quickly become international, spreading from one city to another through networks of artists: The wild style graffiti that was born in the Bronx spawned or connected with local styles in cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, and Sao Paulo. Like other important artistic trends, the graffiti impulse could not be confined to one medium. The emergence of graffiti paralleled the genesis of hip-hop, its artistic vocabulary spilling over into break dancing, street fashion, and the language and rhythms of rap music. In the mid-1970s, the New York subways were like total works of art. Every square foot of the trains' surfaces, inside and out, was bombed with tags and throw-ups. Riders were blasted by the beats coming from boom boxes. A subway trip could be an immersion into utter urban anarchy or a shot of explosive artistic energy—it was probably both.

"Many artistic innovations occur during periods of prosperity and economic expansion. The emergence of graffiti as an art form in the '70s occurred in a time of economic and political challenges: the oil embargo of 1973, the stock market decline, and the malaise over the Vietnam War were among the factors that signaled the end of the American dream. The youth culture and the liberation movements of the late '60s had taught that anyone could be an artist. The unfulfilled promise of '60s idealism clashing with the disappointing reality of America in the mid-'70s led to angry and anti-authoritarian art forms such as graffiti and punk rock."

My discovery of graffiti

For me, it began with "Taki 183," the omnipresent signature that you found all over New York in the 70s on buildings, the subway, doorways, lamposts and wherever you looked. This was only the tip of the iceberg. Soon graffiti had conquered the entire subway system, inside and out. I knew only New York graffiti even though it was appearing in many other places.

The New York graffiti artists of this time were spray paint gymnasts. The animated manequins seen in the exhibition are convincing replicas of the real thing. The wall of spray paint cans in the exhibition demonstrates their tool kit.

What qualifies ART IN THE STREETS as a seminal / blockbuster exhibition?

As Peter Deitch said above, graffiti is "Arguably the most influential art movement since Pop." I have been aware of bits and pieces of this phenomenon over the last forty years. Roaming through the streets of SOHO, in the 1970s, one was constantly confronted with the graffiti movement as it was emerging. I was witnessing graffiti everywhere, but never put the pieces together. Previously, I saw it as a series of isolated phenomena. It took ART IN THE STREETS to awaken me to the vibrancy, vitality and majesty of this incredibly vigorous art movement.

This is exactly what a seminal exhibition accomplishes. It creates an awareness that did not exist previously for you. I am going to assume that most of the people whosee this exhibition will experience a similar awakening. For that, I thank and congratulate Peter Deitch and his collaborators.

As a new LA resident, thanks to ART IN THE STREETS, I see graffiti wherever it exists here in a new light. It confronts me in the part of the city in which I live, Boyle Heights, and the part of the city in which I spend most of my time, Downtown Los Angeles. There is graffiti in other parts of LA which are beyond the range of my routine travels.

Check out this excellent site - The Dirt Floor

By way of explanation / seminal exhibitions:

A seminal exhibition offers fresh, insightful and compelling cultural and intellectual content. It demands that you re-evaluate your established ideas. Beyond that, it offers new concepts which might not have entered your mind. Sometimes these concepts have been tested, sometimes not.

By way of explanation / blockbuster exhibitions:

Blockbuster art exhibitions are ubiquitous - a dime a dozen. Some are of real quality; some are atrocious hoaxes. Generally, they are lavish displays of famous and not-so-famous works of art that are seldom seen or are presented in a new context which might make them appear to be more unique and/or special. Some might be spectacular to see; some might have intellectual content, most do not. The term "blockbuster art exhibition" joined our lexicon when Tom Hoving, the brilliant and imaginative director of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, brought the The Treasures of Tutankhamun to this country in the 1970's.

Distinguishing between seminal and blockbuster exhibitions

Below are examples of both, most of which I have seen over a number of years.

Seminal

Cubism and Abstract Art and Fantastic Art Dada and Surrealism were the two most seminal exhibitions ever presented in an American art museum. Alfred H. Barr, Jr., founding director of The Museum of Modern Art in New York, was curator of both. In 1936, they established the canons of interpretation for the historical roots of the modern art movement. Often embellished and revised, the content of these two exhibitions has influences how most Americans view the Western European roots of the modern art movement. At the time, these two exhibitions appealed to a small coterie of wealthy modern art cognoscenti.

http://www.moma.org/learn/resources/archives/archives_highlights_02_1936

Blockbuster

The Family of Man,a huge photographic exhibition in 1955 at The Museum of Modern Art in New York, had lines of people stretching from the museum entrance in the middle of the block on West 53rd Street to Fifth Avenue. Essentially a composite of the personal choices of Edward Steichen, Director of the Department of Photography at MOMA, it was an idiosyncratic exhibition that elevated photography to a new level. The design of the exhibition was a maze; it compelled gallery goers to investigate its nooks and crannies. This was one of the first times that photo blow-ups appeared in an art museum.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Family_of_Man

Seminal / Blockbuster

In the late 1970s, the new Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris emerged as a fountainhead of 20th century art interpretation. Paris-New York, Paris-Berlin and Pairs-Moscou, a trilogy of exhibitions organized by Pontus Hulten, examined 20th century art history through links between these art capitals. These exhibitions included art objects, films, posters, documentation, and reconstructions of exhibition spaces such as Gertrude Stein's salon. Pontus Hulten was the founding director of LA MOCA. Arriving in 1980, he left in 1984.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pontus_Hult%C3%A9n

Blockbuster

The Treasures of Tutankhamun, jointly organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and National Gallery of Art, Washington, the exhibition opened in Washington in 1972 and later went to The Metropolitan Museum in New York. It toured American cities until 1981 and attracted, at that time, unprecedented crowds. To accommodate huge number of visitors, a reservation system was developed with tickets being sold on specific dates for specific time slots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exhibitions_of_artifacts_from_the_tomb_of_Tutankhamun

Seminal / Blockbuster

In 1986, the Centre Pompidou presented Vienne 1900-1938, l'apocalypse joyeuse, another exhibition which defined the totality of a city as an art center within a specific period of time. It embraced art, cultural history, political history and the impact of Nazism on the Jewish artists and intellectuals who made Vienna their home. Clearly a seminal exhibition, it was immensely popular. The Centre Pompidou initiated evening openings with a midnight closing.

http://www.centrepompidou.fr/pompidou/Communication.nsf/0/88D31BDB4FE7AB60C1256D970053FA6

Borderline Seminal / Blockbuster

Circa 1492: Art in the Age of Exploration, National Gallery of Art, Washington, 1992. This remarkable exhibition depicted the global society of the late 15th century. Although studded with masterpieces, it made a significant cultural statement demonstrating the diversity, vitality and interconnectedness at that time of the world's population and cultures. Perhaps more blockbuster than seminal, its intellectual content cannot be overlooked.

http://www.nga.gov/past/data/exh640.shtm

Blockbuster

Aurea Roma: DallaCittàPagana alla Città Christiana (Golden Rome: From the Pagan City to the Christian City) 2000, Palazzo delle Esposizioni, Roma. This exhibition was planned to coincide with the celebration of the 2,000th anniversary of Christianity. Although it confirmed the power and opulence of the Catholic Church, it also presented a non-theological view of the emergence of a monotheist society.

http://www.palazzoesposizioni.it/Mediacenter/FE/CategoriaMedia.aspx?idc=288&explicit=SI

By way of explanation / my seminal / blockbuster exhibitions:

Having created two exhibitions which were seminal / blockbusters, I can speak with some authority.

Above: Photo of crowds waiting to enter The Lower East Side: Portal to American Life exhibition at The Jewish Museum, 1966. There were lines from Fifth Avenue to Madison Avenue along 92nd Street.

In 1966, I created The Lower East Side: Portal to American Life exhibition at The Jewish Museum in New York. It is listed among thousands of other events in world Jewish history in The Timetables of Jewish History: A Chronology of the Most Important People and Events in Jewish History. This exhibition invigorated a sense of ethnic pride among Eastern European Jewish immigrants and their progeny; it encouraged other ethnic groups to follow a similar pattern.

Above: Photo of crowds in the 1940-1949 section of the Harlem On My Mind exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

In 1969, I createdHarlem On My Mind: Cultural Capital of Black America: 1900 - 1968, an exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In Displays of Power: Memories and Amnesia in the American Museum author Steven C. Dubin wrote: "Harlem On My Mind is a landmark. It opened the doors of cultural institutions to multimedia. It helped define the blockbuster exhibition." Of the exhibition catalogue which reflected the content of the exhibition, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., chair of the Afro-American Studies Department at Harvard University, said, "This catalogue ...remains ... one of the richest and most comprehensive records of the African-American in the twentieth century."

The exhibition was divided into six chronological sections: 1900-1919 / From White to Black Harlem, 1920-1929 / An Urban Black Culture, 1930-1939 / Depression and Hard Times, 1940-1949 / War, Hope and Opportunity, 1950-1959 / Frustration and Ambivalence, 1960-1968 / Militancy and Identity.

Conclusions

ART IN THE STREETS annointed graffiti with new status. What does all of this portend for the contemporary art world? Will there be a graffiti reevaluation in the global art market where art is sold like commodities on the stock market? Will graffiti enter the global art market as a new and desirable art commodity?

Most people who call themselves artists today want to see their work exhibited in museums. They view inclusion in a museum show as a careerism stepping stone. Graffiti is outsider art; it's original intent had nothing to with museums and their associated prestige.

There is no question that this exhibition has set in motion a whole new set of options. Perhaps we will begin to see plaques placed alongside graffiti works with the names of collectors who have purchased them from artists or their agents? Perhaps we will see evanescent graffiti works on video sold much as Bill Viola markets his art? Perhaps none of these will happen? Perhaps the movement will fade into oblivion? (I hope not.) We'll just have to wait and see how all of this plays out!

Graffiti is created to be seen in situ.(Some graffiti artists were commissioned to create specific works seen in the exhibition galleries.)From my perspective, rather than transforming non-museum art into displayable museum art, there might have been another approach. I would like to have seen a battery of webcams attached to video projectors presenting varied examples of graffiti so that they would have been seen in context - on the streets. For me, this would have been a more authentic presentation of current examples. With regard to presenting historical examples as museum objects, I concur with doing this by way of interpretation. That's a different story.

ART IN THE STREETS is a must see exhibition.It is big and diverse, not the kind of exhibition that one can digest immediately. I have seen it twice and am going again next week.

Last Remaining Seats

2011-05-14T14:15:00.000-07:00

King Kong - The Eighth Wonder of the World

King Kong, 1933

As a member of the Program Sub-Committee of the Los Angeles Conservancy's Last Remaining Seats Committee, I prepared the program notes for King Kong. Having seen it first as a child and many times again as an adult, for me, it demonstrates the wonders of movies - the ability to create a total unreality. It will be shown at the Los Angeles Theater on June 15.

http://www.laconservancy.org/remaining/2011.php4

http://www.losangelestheatre.com/

Special guest at this showing will be Pauline Wagner (who is 100 years old). She was Fay Wray's stunt double in the film. Below is a recent interview with Pauline Wagner, as well as some scenes from King Kong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iM1uKG0ZhI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H0WpKl2A_2k

My Program Notes

Ray Bradbury called it one of the “greatest films ever made” Andrew Sarris disdainfully dismissed it as a “B” picture. There is no question that King Kong, can be viewed as an iconic masterpiece of special effects filmmaking. It has been remade, imitated, and bastardized while at the same time generating a genre that has flourished ever since its release. Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings said, “Watching that film propelled me into a love of making movies and learning how to do visual effects, the very stuff of movie magic.”

The creative force behind the film was Merian C. Cooper - adventurer, explorer, filmmaker, journalist, prisoner of war, studio executive, technical innovator and war hero all rolled into one. Leading man, Carl Denham, could be seen as a personification of Cooper.

Prior to making King Kong, Cooper had traveled to the South Seas and Africa aboard The Wisdom as a member of Captain Edward A. Salisbury’s expedition. Its purpose was to create documentary films and written records of their explorations. Ernest Shodesack, who later became Cooper’s collaborator and co-producer, joined The Wisdom expedition in Sumatra. Cooper and Schodsack later made documentary films in Siam (Thailand). They released two: Grass (1925) and Chang (1927).

Cooper and Schodesack came to the making of King Kong with considerable experience in exotic cultures. They amalgamated that with the wizardry of Willis O’Brien’ s technical effects.. The script is pedestrian good guy / bad guy with beauty and the beast throw in for good measure and love triumphing as the last scene fades out. What sets King Kong apart from all others is O’Brien’s special effects. O’Brien had pioneered the art of three-dimensional stop-motion animation for nearly twenty years. In reality, King Kong was not 18 feet tall weighing a ton. He was an 18-inch metal armature with articulated joints enveloped with cotton and string, coated with latex rubber and covered with rabbit fur. In order to achieve a sense of motion, the figures had to be manipulated and photographed frame-by-frame (24 frames per second, 1,440 per minute). Miniature jungle environments served as backgrounds and foregrounds for three-dimensional illusions including rear screen projections.

The derisive ethnic stereotyping common in motion pictures and accepted across the board in American society during the 1930s is viewed today as offensive. We see the tribal chief as an aboriginal caricature and the Chinese cook, Charlie, as a strange backward foreigner.

The film did not receive any Academy Award nominations. In 1975, it was named one of the 50 best American films by the American Film Institute. In 1991, King Kong was considered to be "culturally, historically and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry. In 1998, the American Film Institute ranked it as number 43 on its list of the 100 greatest movies of all time.
______________________________________________________________________
As is the Hollywood practice, film classics are regurgitated time and again. Being a purist, I have never seen them.

l976 - Produced by Dino de Laurentis

King Kong (1976)

2005 - Directed by Peter Jackson

King Kong (2005)

Food Merchandsing in America / Chapter One

2011-03-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

Food Merchandising: From Art to Spectacle, Chapter One - It All Began With Dean & Deluca on Prince Street in SoHo

In September 1977, when Joel Dean, Giorgio Deluca and Jack Ceglio opened their first food store on Prince Street in SoHo they set in motion a food revolution that encompassed merchandising, taste and style transforming the way that Americans sold and bought food. At that time, SoHo was the locus of the avant-garde art world in America. A sizable colony of artists were transforming the surrounding commercial and industrial buildings, some dating back to the Civil War era, into loft living spaces. The works that SoHo artists created remain significant in 20th century art history. These artists were the Dean & Deluca clientele, so it was logical that their neighborhood food store should itself become a work of art.
For a brief period of time, SoHo served as a significant style generator in art, food, clothing and life style. In fact, SoHo became a symbol of what was new and hip. It became so commercial that Bloomingdale's opened a store on Broadway between Prince and Broome.

As I remember it, the Dean & Deluca Prince Street store was about forty feet wide and one hundred and twenty feet deep. Like the nearby galleries, it was a pristine white environment accentuated by stainless steel and glass refrigerated display cases and free-standing metal shelves. As you entered the door, you were greeted by a sculptural display of fruits and vegetables with operatic arias wafting above your head. The employees, young and attractive, were outfitted in pristine white uniforms. They were knowledgeable and passionate about the food they were selling. The breads, cheeses, olives and prepared meats looked spectacular and their taste was superb. It was a memorable aesthetic experience to enter this space and purchase food.

In 1985, I spent a weekend at Dean & Deluca providing samples of my wife Mary's Grafton Goodjams made in small batches of organically grown fruit and Vermont maple syrup. Based on this experience, I was aware of a transformed clientele. There were more women in pastel clothing than jeans. The pastels were the "bridge and tunnel crowd" from New Jersey and Long Island, as they were disdainfully described by by SoHo residents. It was these suburbanites who expanded the Dean & Deluca audience beyond SoHo.

In 1988, outside investors entered the picture and bank rolled expansion with a move to the corner of Prince and Broadway.

This was more a football field-sized space. Joel Dean and Giorgio Deluca moved their offices from the back of the Prince Street store to the back of the Broadway store. From there, they could maintain a watchful eye on every detail of the store's operation. Both were often seen roaming the aisles to be certain that their standards were maintained. Even though expansion had taken place, there was no diminution of quality.

When Giorgio Deluca saw my wife Mary's Grafton Goodjam vinegars, he ordered some and placed them prominently in the store. Exposure at Dean & Deluca served as a catalyst to expand her market nationwide.

Typical of investors, they wanted to see expansion. Stores were opened in Georgetown, Maryland; Charlotte, North Carolina and St. Helena, Napa Valley, California. Added to the mix were a number of Dean & Deluca Coffees like this one illustrated below on the ground floor of Renzo Piano's New York Times building.

Fortunately, through the years with a number of different owners and the departure of Giorgio Deluca (who now has his own restaurant in SoHo) and Joel Dean (who unfortunately died several years ago), the same level of quality has been maintained. Below is a photograph that I took recently at the Prince and Broadway store.

Fortunately for those of us who appreciate this store, the passion and sensitivity for good food that Giorgio Deluca and Joel Dean exuded remains in tact. I have never been disappointed by any purchase that

I made at a Dean & Deluca store over more than thirty years.

From its SoHo art world origins, the Dean & Deluca style has gone mainstream. As one travels around country, you see formulaic imitations, none as good, but these stores offer an enhanced food merchandising experience contributing to the lives of many of us. Whole Foods is probably the most evident example. Every major supermarket chain has its imitation of the Dean & Deluca model. Many of these beneficiaries of enhanced food merchandising might never have heard of Dean & Deluca.

Is the artful presentation of food still a valid style? My answer is yes, but ... there are new winds circulating - Eataly in New York in particular. Eataly will be examined in the next post.

Food Merchandising in America / Chapter Two

2011-03-04T21:34:00.000-08:00

Food Merchandising: From Art to Spectacle, Chapter Two - Mario Batali Introduces Eataly to New York in the Toy Building (Fifth & 23rd)

Giorgio Deluca had his Italian inspiration for a glorious food market; it was Peck in Milan, Mario Batali, seen above at Eataly New York, found his model at Eataly, a group of six food store / restaurants in Asti, Bologna, Milano, Monticello, Pinerolo and Turin. The first Eataly opened in Turin on Janaury 26, 2007. Outside Italy, in addition to New York, there is an Eataly in Japan.

In proclaiming its philosophy, Eataly describes itself as the original model for a market in which products of the highest quality representing traditional Italian agriculture are sold, consumed, and studied. Envisioned as a multifunctional market dedicated to gastronomy, Eataly offers better products while supporting sustainability.

Eataly New York(seen above and below) is vast and variegated. It is a food emporium: a restaurant serving fish, meats and pasta, a bakery, a meat market, a fish market, a fruit and vegetable market, a prepared foods market, a wine shop, a coffee bar and a learning center. There is no question that it hit the New York "food passion" nerve. It is reputed to be the highest grossing restaurant and food store in this country even though it has been open for barely six months.

As such a long term Dean & Deluca aficionado, do I find Mario Batali's Eataly threatening? Absolutely not! Eataly, like Dean & Deluca, is going to create its own transformational niche in American food marketing.

On my first visit to Eataly New York, I loved the experience from the moment that I walked in the door. I entered from Fifth Avenue working my way toward the restaurant areas. In my path, I was confronted by a fifty-year old woman carrying a wine glass as though she were at a cocktail party. I managed to get a seat next to the service area of the seafood kitchen. I enjoy sitting at the counter watching the food preparation and service scene. Since I don't eat meat, I bypassed that one, and since I make better pasta than most restaurants, I skipped that section, too. And I got to know Alex, the chef, as he gyrated through his work. He told me that he had been a sous chef at Le Bernardin for seven years. A theatrical extrovert, he also knew how to prepare delicious food. I had a sensational piece of swordfish - cut as a trapezoid. It seemed strange, but it worked. The next time, Alex told me to allow him to make my choices. My first course was mussels; the second, sea bass. Nothing was overwrought - just right for me.

Open kitchens facing counters with stools are common in New York restaurants; however, it seemed to be different to me at the Eataly food service islands. There was so much activity surrounding food preparation that cooking and eating blended into the generally chaotic ambiance. Did the food suffer as a result? I don't think so.

Although I have never seen Harrods food court in London, it does not appear to have the ambiance of an Eataly, nor does the KaDeWe department store food court in Berlin - which I know.

For me, Eataly New York was "spectacle," a kind of theatrical experience. Cable television is flooded with food and cooking shows and their accompanying "celebrity chefs." It appears that cookbooks are resisting a downturn in the sluggish book market. With the plethora of television and cable cooking shows and the deluge of cookbooks, food preparation is now viewed in a different light - less as art and more as spectacle. In this sense, Eataly becomes a handmaiden to all of the spectacles associated with food preparation and marketing hype. Does this mean that food as spectacle is better or worse than it was in the heyday of food as art? Not at all. It is just different.

Now to my prediction. The initial impact of Eataly is just being felt. Is it something that can be replicated in other cities? Even though there are Eatalys in smaller towns surrounding Turin and in Bologna and Milan, I doubt that it is a formula that will be replicated readily in the United States. It works in New York because there is a passionate food culture. To my knowledge, there are not many other places in this country for which it is so well suited; it might work in Boston and Chicago. I doubt that it would in LA.

This is not to say that there is no interest in food in LA. There are farmers markets in virtually every neighborhood. There are ethnic restaurants, ethnic markets and critics who evaluate them. For me, interest in food among Angelenos registers as cool and detached. Several years ago, having found myself in a Staten Island Italian neighborhood, I searched for a market. Much to my astonishment, I found a huge food market the equivalent of some that I know in Rome. How could this be? That's New York! Could I make an equivalent discovery in LA? I doubt it.

So what can we expect of Eataly's future? There might not be one in another American city, but we will soon see bastardized versions appearing in some of the tens of thousands of mall food courts blanketing the country. As legions of mall merchandisers search for the latest "hit," they will embrace the Eataly concept by serving franchised junk food that most of its consumers will not be able to distinguish from the Eataly original.

In the meantime, Eataly New York will bring joy to those who dig it.

High School Jouralism at the LA Times

2011-02-13T01:48:00.000-08:00

14th Council District Contenders: José Huizar vs Rudy Martinez

The Incumbent

Quoted from Councilman Huizar's Campaign
Literature

"Council Member José Huizar is really getting things done for our neighborhoods"
- The New Hollenbeck Police Station

Making our community safer
- Ascot Hills Park in El Sereno

Preserving Open Space
- DWP Headquarters

Taking on the DWP
- Mendez Learning Center

Great new schools
- The Gold Line light rail

Working for good jobs
- Eagle Rock Park

The Challenger

"Rudy is the loving father of two children Marty (11) and Mia (7)"

-Quoted from Rudy Martinez's Campaign Literature

"I am running because I want to make a positive difference in our Council District and accomplish the following objectives:
- Create jobs and streamlining the bureaucratic process
- Bring accountability and transparency to elected offices and City Departments
- Find innovative ways to improve our roads, sidewalks and recreation areas
- Work with police and fire departments to improve public safety"

My evaluation of the incumbent:

Having attended José Huizar's campaign kick off and reporting it on my blog dated January 16, 2011, I have confirmed my support for the incumbent. That day, I
witnessed a a parade of politicians (including the mayor), civic and business leaders testify to the outstanding service that Councilman Huizar offered to his district and the city at large.

As a new resident in Boyle Heights and having no previous associations with Los Angeles, the Mariachi Plaza Farmers Market (Boyle Heights Farmers Market), for which I credit Councilman Huizar as being largely responsible, has provided both me and my wife with an opportunity to connect with our neighborhood and to feel that we belong here.

On February 8, I attended the goLAstreetcar release of the project's economic benefits study. Here there were different faces: politicians, business leaders, and civic leaders, all of whom testified to the significant role that Councilman
Huizar played in moving this project forward. They praised his vision and his ability of secure the necessary funding for this project which will bring: "$1.1billion in new development; 675,000 ft of new office space; 2,600 new housing units; 9,300 new jobs; 3,600 new residents' $24.5 million in new annual spending; 5,800 new hotel room bookings per year; and $47 million in new city revenue."

From my perspective, Councilman Huizar is an intelligent dedicated public servant who knows how to work the levers of government in order to bring dollars that will benefit our neighborhood. He is tuned to the needs and desires of his constituents using them as guidelines for actions. He is a tireless worker who is known to answer emails at 3:00am.

My evaluation of the challenger:

On February 9, I attended his campaign stop in Boyle Heights. Although I was already convinced that Huizar was my choice,I wanted to find out who his opponent was and what his qualifications might be. There is no question that Rudy Martinez exudes personal charm accompanied by demonstrable naivete regarding the complexities of governmental affairs. Although he brags about his evident commercial successes, he cannot make convincing arguments that he would be able to translate those skills into the realm of governmental affairs. He offers simplistic solutions for the "evils" of an entrenched and obdurate municipal bureaucracy.

With justifiable pride accompanied by praise for his mother,he tells of his up from the depths transformation. The level of his formal education was not made apparent; however,he takes pride in being a graduate of the school of hard knocks.

At the Boyle Heights campaign stop, a member of the audience lamented what she deemed to be excessive mud slinging being practiced by both candidates. Rudy Martinez responded that both candidates agreed to end their campaigns of personal vilification at the "quorum" he attended the previous day.(KPCC Candidate Forum) He later acknowledged that he meant to say "forum."

Although there is no party affiliation indicated on his campaign literature, his pro-business, anti-government, and anti-labor rhetoric suggests that he is either a Republican or a Blue Dog Democrat.

On February 4, 2011, there was an endorsement of Martinez on the editorial page which reads like a high school newspaper student council candidate endorsement. I quote it in part:

"They offer voters notably different backgrounds and approaches to serving. The Times endorses Martinez.

"... Bright, articulate and well educated, he (Huizar) can point to a list of minor achievements — a bridge improvement here, protection of open space there, support for a Department of Water and Power ratepayer advocate and opposition to the 710 Freeway extension. Although his record is not exactly inspiring, it's hardly a failure.

"Martinez is energetic and engaging, and thoroughly immersed in the civic life of the district. A successful restaurateur and house flipper — he starred in the cable series "Flip This House" — he is campaigning in precisely the opposite of Huizar's fashion.

" ... Martinez says the FBI has interviewed him about Huizar's long delay in paying for some home repairs. One Huizar line of attack has been to remind voters that Martinez had a few arrests as a young person — for loitering, a DUI and a couple of scuffles. That's true, but all were minor offenses and occurred when Martinez was a young man going through a tough time. None offers any insight into the man or candidate he is today."

Recognizing that the Los Angeles Times is a pathetic shadow of the once great paper that it had been, the editorial, with unsubstantiated rumors, confirms its decline as a viable community voice. Having lived in Los Angeles for one year, I am increasingly cognizant of some issues and perplexed by others.

As a relatively new blogger, I realize that I, as well as the Los Angeles Times, can editorialize. Below is my first editorial.

I would like to see a retraction of the Los Angeles Times' editorial endorsing Rudy Martinez with mine replacing it as the paper's endorsement of José Huizar.

EDITORIAL

Los Angeles City Council District 14 is one of our city's most bifurcated political entities. It reaches from Boyle Heights in the heart of East Los Angeles across the Los Angeles River encompassing pieces of Downtown, Eagle Rock and El Sereno, representing a smorgasbord of residential, commercial, and industrial areas with diverse personalities and populations.With its 98 per cent Mexican American population, Boyle Heights has served as a baptismal font for Mexican American politicians.

Currently, two Mexican Americans, one a seasoned politician and the other a complete novice, are competing to represent this district. At one point, they were close personal friends.Many find the public acrimony that has erupted distasteful.
On a neighborhood level, it mimics the kind of character assassination that has become epidemic in national politics.

The two candidates represents totally different Mexican American trajectories. Rudy Martinez appears to be a street kid who cleaned up his act and has become a very successful businessman. He has dabbled in public service, mostly associated with the police department. He is charming and engaging which might explain the popularity of his restaurants.

When asked why he is running for public office and spending hundreds of thousands of his own money, he admits that he can't provide a convincing answer. José Huizar is a serious dedicated public servant. His educational credentials include: UCLA, UC Berkeley and Princeton. Prior to politics, law was his profession. Before being elected to City Council, he served Board President of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Since becoming a councilman, he has mastered manipulating the levers of local, state and national governments to obtain funding for a number of significant district projects. He has been the unquestioned motivational force behind the goLAstreetcar project which will generate significant economic benefits for the entire Downtown area.

How does one decide between an affable novice and a dedicated public servant? The choice is clear. We prefer solid experience rather than gamble on naivete and inexperience. We endorse
José Huizar for councilman in the 14th District.

DISCOVERING MY NEIGHBORHOOD

2011-01-23T22:12:00.000-08:00

Boyle Heights

Having lived at 573 S. Boyle Avenue for a year, I have driven up and down Boyle Avenue hundreds of times and walked by the buildings on both sides of the street less often; however, to me, they appeared to be wallpaper because I never had the opportunity to penetrate below the surface. On January 15, the anniversary of our arrival in Boyle Heights, Survey LA, the Los Angeles Historic

Resources Survey in association with the Los Angeles Conservancy, the office of Councilman José Huizar and the Boyle Heights Historical Society organized a walking tour of S. Boyle Avenue in which we were able to visit eight sites. There were docents at each.

For me, this was a revelation because I saw these buildings in a totally different light. After meeting some of the residents, these buildings will some degree of familiarity when I drive or walk by them.

Cities have played a major role in my life. I have lived and worked in many and am most familiar with New York, Paris and Rome. It has taken a lifetime to build my reservoir of knowledge and experience related to each of these cities. In Los Angeles and Boyle Heights, I am still at the starting point; however, this walking tour awakened a new sense of identity on which I hope to expand.

S. Boyle Avenue is the western edge of Boyle Heights which reaches into East LA housing nearly one hundred thousand people with supporting industrial, commercial, educational and recreational resources. I travel through these streets on a regular basis making excursions to a supermarket, the post office, and the cash machine hosted by the local police precinct. I need to find similar opportunities to become familiar with the rest of my neighborhood. Until then, I will remain a half citizen in my community.

Detail of a drawing of Boyle Heights, 1877. In the foreground, looking west toward the Los Angeles River is Downtown Los Angeles. In the background, looking east are the vineyard covered hills of Boyle Heights. Collection: Los Angeles Public Library.

South Boyle Avenue, 500 block, facing north toward Mariachi Plaza. 2011.

504 S. Boyle Avenue. Elmer O. Simmons House. Plant Number One of the Simons Brick Company was located in Boyle Heights; it produced many of the bricks used in the construction of Downtown Los Angeles.

432 S. Boyle Avenue. "Max Factor House." Max Factor, a Polish Jewish immigrant, lived in this house in the 1920s. He developed cosmetics for the film industry which he later transformed into commercial products for a mass market.

Hollenbeck Park, lying to the east of S. Boyle Avenue, was created in memory of John Edward Hollenbeck by his widow and Mayor William Workman in 1892.

The ubiquitous freeways have left their mark on Boyle Heights. The 101, 5 and 10 all traverse the neighborhood. Here, the 5 stradles the lake in Hollenbeck Park.

Breed Street Shul, 247 N. Breed Street. Built between 1914 and 1923, then the largest synagogue west of Chicago. It was one of many synagogues serving the large Jewish community. Currently unoccupied, there is group raising funds for its restoration and eventual conversion into a community cultural center.

Mariachi Plaza, First and S. Boyle. Boyle Heights is now a predominantly Mexican American community. According to the 2000 Census, there were 92,786 residents of whom 94.78% were Latino, 2.3% Asian, 2.0 Caucasian - Non Hispanic, 0.9% African American and 0.8% other.

St. Mary's Roman Catholic Elementary School, Boyle Heights, Third Grade, 1936.In all global cities, of which Los Angeles is one, there is a neighborhood that has traditionally served as the entry point for the uninvited. In Los Angeles, it was Boyle Heights.

While reminiscing about the past, long time residents always emphasize the fact that people of different nationalities and religions: Japanese, Jews, Italians, Russians, Mexicans and others, lived in harmony. While immigrants might have been welcomed to Boyle Heights, they were excluded in the rest of Los Angeles where restrictive covenants controlling the entrance of new residents were operative. These restrictions remained in place until the end of World War II, when all such discriminatory practices were outlawed by the U.S. Congress. As a consequence, ethnic communities emerged across Los Angeles where they had previously been excluded. In comparison with New York, London, Paris and Rome, Los Angeles is a relatively new city lacking layers of history upon which to draw. However, there is no question that Boyle Heights has been its immigrant portal comparable to those in
New York, London, Paris and Rome.

In New York, the immigrant portal was The Lower East Side.

http://en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Lower_East_Side

In London, it was Brick Lane.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brick_Lane

In Paris, it was the 20th Arrondissement.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_arrondissement_of_Paris

In Rome, it was Trastevere

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trastevere

Throughout human history, the influx of immigrants has been seen as vital to the life of great cities. In the Ancient Near East, trading centers emerged in which multiple languages and ethnic diversity were common. In the First Century AD, Seneca The Elder, a Roman statesman of Spanish origin, estimated that foreigners constituted half of Ancient Rome's population. He said that "From their towns and colonies, from the whole world in fact they have flocked here (Rome). Every class of person swarmed into the city ..." With an estimated population of a million, imperial Rome required an influx of 10,000 immigrants annually to maintain its population density.

Better to Live in Boyle Heights or Beverly Hills?

Several weeks ago, I was invited to a Yale event in Beverly Hills. Having no familiarity with the area, I printed a Google map as my guide. Allowing myself an extra half hour to get lost, I found later that I needed at least an extra hour. My Google map indicated that my destination was in proximity to Sunset Boulevard. Having entered Beverly Hills, I moved cautiously looking for one of the street names on my map. None appeared. So, I decided to turn around. To complete this manouver, I entered a dead end street, the name of which escapes me. I thought that I had been suddenly air lifted to East Jerusaem. I was surrounded by eight to ten foot solid walls on both sides with surveillance cameras craning their necks above the top. Back on Sunset Boulevard, I headed in the opposite direction. Then, I saw a group of people playing games in what appeared to be a public park. I approached them with my request for directions. They were on an outing from East LA and had no familiarity with the area. Continuing further on Sunset, I did not see another human being from whom I might obtain information nor were there any gas stations or commercial stores. Checking my iphone for my location and comparing it with my Google map, I began to recognize names appearing on visible street signs.

Turning on to one of them, I was greeted by a "Stars Tour Bus," with the driver stopping and pointing out significant addresses. I questioned whether I should ask him for directions because he obviously knew all of the streets and decided against doing that.So, I turned my car around again. Then, this sign loomed large in my windshield. Behold, I saw:

I entered the drive and pulled up alongside a black limo with its driver leaning on the hood. When asked for assistance, he checked his iphone and said that my destination was two blocks away. I had to make a right at the end of the drive then make a left at the second street, and I would be there. He was right. I finally arrived at my destination.

The event's host lived in one of a long line of pseudo mansions of no particular architectural merit situated in this verdant paradise. No eight foot walls here, just lawns. No human beings to be seen either. Obviously, there were no stars on our host's street because the bus did not appear here. I walked up the steps entering an opulent den of bad taste: an imitation Warhol with the head of Marilyn Monroe looming from a stainless steel background caught my attention. Next, I was cofronted by a dangling piece of sculpture that looked like a stuffed cobra. Finally, the de rigueur swimming pool.

Last night, Mary and I ate street food in Mariachi Plaza while a dj plied his trade from the stage. We loved it and felt comfortable in our neighborhood where urban grit predominates.

ON GETTING INTO LOCAL POLITICS

2011-01-16T23:23:00.000-08:00

In my blog of August 10, I reported my dialogue with Councilman
Jose Huizar in answering his question about how a transplanted New
York Jew feels about living in a largely Latino neighborhood. Since
then, I have become a Huizar groupie, in the sense that I monitor and
support his neighborhood initiatives which are many.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_Huizar

Although one would hope that Huizar would run unopposed, that is not
the case. He is being opposed by Rudy Martinez of A&E's "Flip this House"
fame. Martinez describes himself as a "self-made businessman" approaching
the race as an outsider.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/10/businessman-rudy-martinez-donates-150000-to-campaign-to-unseat-la-councilman-jose-huizar.html

I have heard that polls indicate that Huizar is leading by 95%.

Since there are approximately two hundred residents and two hundred
employees at Hollenbeck Palms, I told Councilman Huizar that I hoped
to deliver two hundred votes. Grateful, he said, "That's a precinct."

On January 8, I attended the campaign kick off. It was held in the side yard
of a house that appears to serve as a Democratic Party neighborhood
headquarters. There must have been at least 500 people standing and listening
attentively to a parade of civic officials singing Councilman Huizar's praises.
The audience was primarily Mexican American reflecting the neighborhood's
dominant ehnic group.

From left to right: Myself, Councilman Jose Huizar, Nissim Leon.

From left to right: Myself, Nissim Leon, founder of Boyle Heights Wolfpack
football support organization, Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Aba Ramirez, UC Davis Extension, nutritionist.

Hardly knowing anyone, I did my best to strike up conversations with
congenial and friendly fellow standees. I met the coach of the local high
school's football team. I met a woman who shared her aspirations of
seeing one of her sons attend an Ivy League college. As I asked another
stranger what he did, he said: "I'm the mayor!"

BLOGGING AGAIN!

2011-01-15T22:19:00.000-08:00

THIS IS MY FIRST POST SINCE NOVEMBER. PERHAPS
I HAVE SOME VIABLE EXCUSES? PERHAPS NOT! IN
ANY CASE THIS POST WILL SIGNAL MY RETURN TO
BLOGGING.
TODAY ALSO MARKS THE FIRST ANNIVERARY OF
OUR MOVING TO LA.

Changes

2010-12-03T05:16:00.000-08:00

Dear Readers,

I wanted to let you know about some changes to the blog. I have decided to rename the blog and changed the address. The blog has been renamed THE RELUCTANT ANGELENO (http://the-reluctant-angeleno.blogspot.com/).

Please make a note of the address change and change the RSS feed if necessary.

Thanks for reading. I've got some good posts in the works.

all the best,
Allon

On Los Angeles' Aspirations to Become a "World Class City"

2010-10-13T09:49:00.000-07:00

"Downtown 2020 - Continuing the Renaissance"

On October 12, I attended the Central City Association's symposium
"Downtown 2020 - Continuing the Renaissance."
http://www.aialosangeles.org/event/downtown-2020-continuing-the-renaissance

The CCA describes itself as "lobbying government and advancing
policy in shaping the future of Los Angeles business. And it's fueling
the renaissance of our entire area." http://www.ccala.org/

Having organized and attended similar events in New York and Paris, I can
recognize a good one when I see it. This was top notch.

In an attempt to assert LA's status as a "world class city," there were
three one and a half hour sessions with some of the major players who
are going to participate in and accelerate the creation of an urban center
for Los Angeles.

At a forum focused on sensitivity to New York's urban environment held
in a ballroom at the Waldorf, I was on a panel with Philip Johnson. To make
my point - that it was as important to be as sensitive to what we build as what
we eat - I distributed loaves of artisanal bread and Wonder bread encouraging
members of the audience to taste them. The room was a mess, but I made
my point. I hope this post will be as provocative.

Downtown as An Economic Engine

The Central City Association reports that "The current renaissance has
transformed Downtown Los Angeles from a 9-to-5 business center to a
residential, cultural and entertainment destination with 27,000 new residents,
83,500 new jobs, $180 million in tax revenues to the city and county and
$10.9 billion in business revenues."

So, what kind of a city is evolving and what can we expect to happen over
the next ten to twenty years? After digesting what the various power brokers
of major and minor scale had to say, here's my take.

More than half the world's population - 3.3 billion people live in cities

According to the "United Nations Report, State of the World Population,"
this milestone was reached in 2007. By 2030, the number is expected to be
5 billion, the majority of the people on this planet. We are entering a new age
in which urban environments will continue to expand everywhere.

Awareness of a generational shift

One of the panelists stressed that there is "going to be a surge in demand for
downtown housing among the twenties." This was amplified by another who
spoke of living in Orange County and raising his family there. Unquestionably,
his children were the products of car pool culture. His son did not want to live
in the suburbs; he is living downtown. Many people with similar histories
are attracted to living and working in downtown LA. Such people are the
majority of current downtown residents and represent the nucleus of an
expanding population. For another panelists, seeing a couple walk their dog
after dark, obliterated personal safety as a factor in choosing to live downtown.

The importance of transportation infrastructure

No one disputed nor regretted the demise of the dominance of the automobile.
There was general agreement that completing a suitable local and
regional transportation infrastructure including an expanded subway
system integrated with high speed rail was the city's highest priority.
While this was being built, it was acknowledged that automobiles and
their corollaries: freeways and parking, had to be reckoned with. There
was also discussion of enhanced transportation alternatives within the
urban core.

"A walking city again"

Spring and Seventh, 1926.

One panelist said that "Streets are for everyone, not just for cars."
New York was considered a model to be emulated in developing more
pedestrian friendly streets.

High brow culture as an increasingly significant commodity

It was acknowledged that the entertainment industry has played a major role
in the growth and development of the city and the region over the last century.
With an expanded population of college educated people who have been
exposed to museums and cultural tourism, Eli Broad stressed the magnetism
of museums and concert halls as benefits to local residents as well as to
visitors and convention delegates.

The "haves" and "have nots"

One panelist acknowledged the gap between the "haves" and "have
nots" and the need to create jobs and residences for both classes. The
availability of affordable housing was seen as a necessary corollary.
One of the developers discussed his experience with affordable housing
downtown.

The giants and the dwarfs see opportunities ahead

Although they did not appear on the same panels - the giants spoke of
millions and billions while the dwarfs spoke ot thousands and tens of
thousands - the mega bankers, developers and builders shared common
ground with small scale entrepreneurs in their visions of the continuing
revitalization of downtown LA. Both envision it as a 24/7 city with a mix
of residential and office space, retail commerce, bars, restaurants, and
entertainment.

Evoking the spirit of Jane Jacobs

In the 1960's Robert Moses, the uncontrollable New York developer who left a
mixed record of accomplishments, was opposed by Jane Jacobs when he
attempted to build an expressway that would have bisected Lower Manhattan.
He lost; she won. Her book, "The Death and Life of Great American Cities,"
published in 1961 was a critique of the then current urban renewal process.
She stressed the importance of urban spontaneity where decentralized
ownership stimulates neighborhoods to regenerate themselves through mixed
use and individual entrepreneurism.

Andrew Meiran, owner of the highly successful Edison lounge, who is planning
to both revive and transform Clifton's Cafeteria on Broadway, serves as a perfect
Jane Jacobs' case study. One can predict that his transformation of Clifton's will
have a multiplier effect on Broadway encouraging other entrepreneurs to join
in creating new and innovative enterprises that will breathe life into the whole
downtown area.

No more banal Bunker Hill buildings

One of the speakers said that there had not been a new office building
in LA for twenty-two years. (The LA Live tower contains hotels and
apartment; no office space.) Given the advances in communications
technology, twenty year-old buildings are out-of-date. He promised two
new 60-story office towers in the next three years. There was no mention
of pursuing architectural quality as Eli Broad had said was so important
in planning cultural complexes.

How can we get two office towers that are architectural wonders?

Skyscrapers do not have to be square boxes with glass walls. Shanghai
Tower, above, with 128 floors is approximately 2,000 feet high. It will have
the world's highest open air observation deck, and will house: office space,
a luxury hotel, retail and cultural venues. It is organized as nine cylindrical
buildings stacked one on top of the other. The sweeping design was planned
to reduce the impact of winds often experienced in extremely tall buildings.
Incidentally, this building was designed by Gensler, an American global
architectural firm.

It blows one's mind to think of what is possible. The two towers could be
self-sustaining green buildings generating their own electrical power
with solar panels and turbines. They could recirculate their waste water.
There could be year round gardens on terraces supplying fruits and
vegetables to the building's restaurants. Tenants would flock to such
buildings. People would travel from around the world to see them. The
media would find them endlessly interesting providing LA with a positive
image whenever they are mentioned.

If we wait for the developers, real estate interests and bankers to put
together their package, the odds of getting more Bunker Hill banality are
high. Great architecture means enduring real estate value. Think 80-year
old Rockefeller Center. Great architecture generates great pr. Think Beijing
olympics. Bad architecture means bad business. At one of the panels, there
was discussion of tearing down a section of the LA convention center.

Given the fact that developers and real estate interests will be calling the
shots regarding the design and construction of the two new 60 story towers
being planned for Downtown LA, they should be encouraged to accept
community input. I recommend an international design competition
administered by the CCA. Will the CCA do it? If not, someone else should.

Once again, there is a New York precedent worth examining. The Lower
Manhattan Development Corporation organized an international design
competition in which architects and teams of architects prepared proposals
for buildings to replace the World Trade Towers at Ground Zero. The Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey owned the property and the developer,
Larry Silverstein, was responsible for construction. These proposals influenced
the final design for One World Trade Center, Freedom Tower.

Eli Broad, if willing, would be the perfect chairman for an international design
competition committee. He would have no problem finding qualified members.

The CCA is at bat. For those of us who live here now and for future generations, they need to hit a home run.

P.S. I hope that I fulfilled my promise at the beginning of this post.

The Getty Villa - A World Class Museum

2010-10-07T23:39:00.000-07:00

Having lived in LA for nearly 8 months, I have been waiting for
" a world class museum experience." On Monday, September 27,
the hottest day (113 degrees) on record, I went to the Getty Villa.
My wish was fulfilled.

Getty Villa, September 27, 2010

Although The Metropolitan Museum http://www.metmuseum.org/
is my all time favorite encyclopedic museum, the Musei Capitolini,
designed by Michelangelo in 1536, located in Rome's Piazza del
Campidoglio, offers a special attraction on a personal level.

Musei Capitolini, Campidoglio, Rome.

Musei Capitolini, Palazzo Nuovo, first floor gallery, May 2009

Musei Capitolini, Palazzo Nuovo, first floor gallery, January
2001.

I am standing alongside the portrait bust of an unidentified
Roman citizen, dated First Century AD. For those who believe
that as individual embodiments, we have experienced multiple
lives, this comparison serves as testimony.

So, what does this have to do with my recent visit to The Getty Villa?
I view the Getty Villa, not as a unique experience, but as one episode
of an extended continuity.

Many years ago, I was in LA for an American Association of Museums
annual meeting, and visited the J.Paul Getty Museum, as I believe it was
then called. My recollections are of a less sumptuous historical recreation
with fewer objects on display. This four-part video tour in 1985 by my
friend, Professor Bernard Frischer, describes it as I recall it then.

http://vimeo.com/9404906

http://vimeo.com/9406020

http://vimeo.com/9406916

http://vimeo.com/9407401

Now, one finds an extraordinary collection of Greek and Roman objects
displayed impeccably in elegant galleries of varied dimensions. One cannot
fault the Getty Villa staff on any level of professional presentation; however,
in the area of personal taste, I find the new installation of the Greek and
Roman galleries at The Met, renovated under the watchful eye of Carlos
Picón, Curator in Charge, Department of Greek and Roman Art, to
be more to my liking.

The Met's renovated Greek and Roman galleries, 2007.

The Getty Villa's Geta Krater installation.

Overall, the Getty Villa offers distinct advantages as an experience. It is
not a museum where objects are assembled and displayed as cultural trophies.
It is the recreation of an authentic Roman villa in a physical setting which
provides a simulation approximating the original experience. Artifacts
displayed here acquire an authenticity that can never be achieved in a traditional
art museum.

In ancient Roman times the Bay of Naples hosted a colony of villas which
served as playgrounds for the rich and powerful much as the area surrounding
the Getty Villa does now. For the Roman aristocracy, these villas served as
the settings for extravagant displays of conspicuous consumption and refined
living embodied in eating, drinking and philsophizing.

Malibu - Two Ferraris in Five Minutes

2010-09-27T22:59:00.000-07:00

First spotting: 1:45 pm, Monday, September 27, 2010.
Ferrari 612. Von's parking lot, Sunset and Pacific
Coast Highway.

As the owner parked and left his car, I had the courage to walk
around it and admire it. Suddenly, I heard a strange humming
sound emanating from the car. I assumed that it was some kind
of an alarm that would alert the owner if I got too close.

Second spotting: 1:50 pm. Monday, September 27, 2010.
Ferrari F450-7, The Getty Villa parking garage entrance.

I joined the crowd of gawkers. The owner was justifiably proud of
what appeared to be his new toy. The top was down, so you could
see inside. I said that I had now seen two Ferraris in five minutes
and asked if everyone in Malibu owned a Ferrari. He smiled.

Me and my dream car, Ferrari F458. Ferrari
showroom, San Francisco, August 1, 2005.

Until my two recent spottings in Malibu, this is as close as I ever
got to a real Ferrari. I have a friend in New York who keeps one at
his place in Water Mill on Long Island. He has offered to take me
for a ride, but I never managed to get there.

The Ferrari Story
http://www.thescuderia.net/thefactory.shtml

Ferrari Photos
http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1019&bih=616&q=ferrari&gbv=2&aq=0&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=fer&gs_rfai=

More Ferrari Photos

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&source=imghp&biw=1019&bih=616&q=ferrari+2010+model&gbv=2&aq=1&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=ferrari+2010&gs_rfai=

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&biw=1019&bih=616&gbv=2&tbs=isch%3A1&sa=1&q=ferrari+458+italia&aq=1&aqi=g10&aql=&oq=ferrari+&gs_rfai=

Now back to Malibu and Ferraris.

22 Ferraris drive thru Malibu

Ferrari F40 thrown in as closing gift with purchase of Malibu home

http://www.autoblog.com/2010/04/03/ferrari-f40-thrown-in-as-closing-gift-with-purchase-of-malibu-ho/

A personal footnote. If there is a Malibu Ferrari owner who would like to offer
me a ride, I would welcome it.

Renzo Piano and Olmec Sculpture: A Triumphal Partnership

2010-09-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

Above: Interior, Resnick Pavilion, Olmec Sculpture Exhibition

In his remarks at the Press Preview on September 23, 2010, Renzo
Piano defined his design of museums as both architecture and art -
an art that is sympathetic to works of art. He decried "white boxes"
as a solution to museum architecture because white boxes are not
sympathetic to viewing works of art. From Piano's perspective,
natural light enhances viewing works of art; therefore, he creates
spaces in which natural light can be managed as a corollary to the
aesthetic experience. Although he did not say this specifically, we
can assume that he does not want his architecture to either over-
whelm or distract from the appreciation of works of art.

Achieving this delicate balance is one of Renzo Piano's hallmarks;
it distinguishes his architecture from others who pursue what could
readily be described as egocentric statements in which the presen-
tation of works of art must be accommodated within the boundaries
of the personal style of the architect. Unfortunately, most of the
new museums around the world - except those designed by Renzo Piano
- represent this philosophy. Since the opening of Frank Ghery's
Guggenheim Museum in Bilboa, Spain, virtually every museum board of
directors planning a new building has attempted to find "starchitects"
(star architects - names of firms associated with grandiose projects.
not all of which are well-designed.) who could perform "Bilboa magic."
Fortunately, the decision makers at LACMA exercised wiser judgment.

The success of Renzo
Piano's philosophy is amply demonstrated in the Resnick Pavilion. Above,
it is possible to see the skylight louver system that controls the natural
light in the gallery. There are three exhibition bays: central - Olmec
sculpture - a definitive exhibition of this early Mexican culture, right:
Resnick collection - the personal collection of the benefactors for whom the
new building is named and left: fashion - selections from LACMA's vast his-
torical fashion collection. Each exhibition in its own bay. utilizes a
different level of natural light. As the sun rises and falls; as the
weather changes from day-to-day, adjustment are made with an
iphone app.

In addition to praise for the architect, the installation design team
deserve commendation for their sensitive presentation of the Olmec
artifacts. Although relatively few in number, each of the Olmec sculptures
absorbs the vast space of the gallery without being overwhelmed by its size.

Renzo Piano Building Workshop

http://rpbw.r.ui-pro.com/

Olmec - From Natural History Museums to Art Msueums

2010-09-01T23:05:00.000-07:00

`

www.brooklynandboyle,net

IN THIS ISSUE:

4 - the chicano moratorium by Jaime Cruz ...
6 - ask a wise latina by Josefina López ...
9 - dolores huerta at 80 by Abel Salas ...
10 - flor y canto festivals by Michael Sedaño ...
10 - alarcon's "ce uno one" review by Nina Serrano ...
13 - un solo sol kitchen byAntonia de la Torre ...
16 - lacma olmec exhibit by Allon Schoener ...

LACMA Presents First West Coast Exhibtion of
Olmec Masterworks / October 2, 2010 - January
9, 2011

http://www.lacma.org/art/ExhibOlmec.aspx

With great anticipation, I am looking forward to seeing
the Olmec exhibition at LACMA. Among what have been
described as Mesomaerican cultures, Aztec, Maya, Mixtec,
Olmec and Zapotec, the oldest is Olmec with roots tracing
back to the sixth century BCE. During my lifetime, I have
witnessed the transformation of Mesomaerican cultures
from the domain of natural history museums to art
museums.

My first contact with Olmec art, this ancient Mexican culture
most notable for its highly developed stone carving technology
producing massive stone heads that have no equal in human
history, occurred when I was a graduate student in art history
at Yale. I had the good fortune to attend a seminar focusing on
the Olmec led by the renowned Pre-Columbian scholar, George
Kubler. As an art historian, Kubler was more interested in a
stylistic interpretation of Olmec culture in which he saw the art
objects as having a life of their own, seeming sometimes to be
devoid of an association with the human beings who created
them.

The Olmecs utilized some of the hardest stones to be found on
this planet: basalt, granite and jade. Kubler marveled at the
incredible technological accomplishment of the Olmec sculptors,
who, like Ancient Egyptians, managed to create sculpture from
blocks of stone without the benefit of metal tools.

Among indigenous American cultures, there were varied writing
systems; however, there were no written languages in the
European and Asian traditions. As a consequence, we know
virtually nothing about the Olmec except the sculptures that
remain. Without a written language or some other method for
recording events, Olmec society remains shrouded by myth
and mystery more than in fact. There is much unresolved
about when and how the Olmec lived, prospered and disappeared.

Other Mesoamerican societies had highly developed glyph systems
which recorded military and political events. Buildings, walls
and stela were inscribed with historical, political and
genealogical information. While there are on-going investigations
of these written glyph systems, the spoken languages of a number
of North, South and Central American indigenous cultures persist.
Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru have one or more official indigenous
spoken languages. In the American southwest, the Navajo language
claims 200,000 speakers.

In Mexico and Guatemala, the Maya retain their cultural identity
and their their spoken language remains functional. While serving
as a consultant to the Organization of American States, I witnessed
the perpetuation of the Maya oral tradition. During lunch at the
home of the leader of a woman's weaving cooperative in Flores,
Guatemala, an elder was teaching the son of our host Ancient Maya
in an adjacent space. Recognition of elders as custodians of oral
tradition, is common in other American, African and Asian indigenous
cultures

On previous occasions, I have seen Olmec sculpture in traditional
museum settings: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, American Museum of
Natural History and National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
I believe that the Resnick Pavilion designed by Renzo Piano will
provide a new and enhanced opportunity to view Olmec sculpture bathed
in natural light. This might simulate the environment in which these
sculptures were created rather than their being seen in confined
traditional museum galleries with artificial illumination. As the
light outside changes, so will the light inside. It promises to be
spectacular.

LACMA

http://www.lacma.org/art/ExhibOlmec.aspx

BBC DOCUMENTARY ON THE OLMEC

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF ANTHROPOLOGY, MEXICO CITY

http://www.sacred-destinations.com/mexico/mexico-city-archaeological-museum.htm

OLMEC HISTORY

http://www.aztec-history.com/olmec-civilization.html

How Does a Transplanted Jewish New Yorker Feel About Living in a Largely Latino Neighborhood?

2010-08-10T20:30:00.000-07:00

On left: Jose Huizar, Council Member of the Fourteenth District. On right:
Allon Schoener. Mariachi Plaza, Boyle Heights, August 9, 2010. Photograph
by David Rosenbloom.

August 6, 2010 - 4:14 AM - From Jose Huizar

I like your blog. I have a better understanding of of what a New Yorker is doing
on the streets of Boyle Heights. You looked deep in thought the other day when
we were marching and u were on the bus bench. It also seemed u were surprised
when you saw the march going by ... I love Boyle Heights ... I love what it has
always stood for; it welcomes everyone.

It gave me a lot as a young immigrant boy new to this wonderful country ... how
does a transplanted New Yorker feel in a largely Latino neighborhood?

August 6, 2010 - 4:37 PM - From Allon Schoener

I am flattered that you found time to write to me at 4:14 AM.

In answer to your question, "how does a transplanted Jewish New
Yorker feel about living in a largely Latino neighborhood? you evoked a
strong emotional chord - something that has been central to my life experience.
Although I prefer to think of myself as a New Yorker because I have lived
and worked in New York City for the majority of my life, I was born in
Cleveland and left at the age of seventeen to go to Yale and never returned.

Yale provided me with my first and perhaps most significant adaptation
experience. Arriving at Yale as a lower middle class Jewish kid from
suburban Cleveland, I was a total outcast. Unlike my classmates whose
parents were bankers, stockbrokers and industrial barons, my father was
into "schmatas" (in his case, men's clothing) and my mother was a
salesperson in a department store. The Yale class structure was rigid.
There were those who wore white buck shoes(white men) and everyone
else (peasants and black men).

The dominant WASP social class excluded me. Anthony Coe III who
lived on a grand estate on Long Island sat next to me in an American
literature class for a year. He never spoke to me. I kept asking myself,
"Who am I?" Having relatives who were well-recognized artists living
in New York, I was welcomed as a weekend visitor. In addition to
haunting museums, I found myself drawn to The Lower East Side, the
Jewish immigrant portal to America. I walked the streets, ate in the
few remaining delis and dairy restaurants. Still standing, was the
elementary school on Houston Street that my father atteneded forty
years before. By the time that I got to The Lower East Side, its epic
past had disappeared. There were shadows and ghosts.

My exposure to this bygone era provided me with a sense of personal
security when I returned to Yale. Perhaps I was a black man or a peasant,
but I knew that I, too, had a history. It also provided me an enduring
sense of personal identity. Thereafter, I never questioned being a Jew.
That is why I wanted to live in New York. There were so many Jews of all
stripes living in New York that I knew that my Jewishness would never
be an issue. When asked who I am, instinctively, I say a "New York Jew."

Twenty years after Yale, as the Assistant Director of The Jewish Museum
at Fifth Avenue and 92nd Street, I created one of that museum's most
successful exhibitions, "The Lower East Side: Portal to American Life
1870-1924." As the exhibition demonstrated, The Lower East Side was
neither a place nor a time. It is a complex historical idea embroidered
with emotional overtones. There was group pride that so much came
out of it. The older generation had nostalgia, the younger generation
acknowledged their Lower East Side heritage with varying degrees
of enthusiasm. As with so much Jewish history, no roots with enduring
continuity were planted. The reality of The Lower East Side is the
memory.

When the exhibition opened, there was a line stretching from the
front door of the museum around the corner to Madison Avenue, a
city block away. The exhibition initiated the era of blockbusters.It
provided me with the opportunity to obliterate the indignities that
I experienced at Yale. Every Sunday, I would go to the museum
to observe grandparents pointing to the various photo enlargements
in the exhibition evoking the past for their offspring who listened
in rapture.

Now, getting back to your question "how does a transplanted
jewish new yorker feel about living in a largely latino neighborhood?"
In Boyle Heights, no one questions who I am. I believe that I am
accepted as another human being without either racial or class
distinctions. I am comfortable wherever I go regularly: Mariachi Plaza
Farmers Market, Primera Taza coffee house on First Street, Valarta
supermarket on Whittier, Soto Car Wash at Fourth and Soto, and CVS
pharmacy on East Olympic. My inability to speak Spanish limits my
ability to communicate, but does not inhibit my acceptance
in the community. I am taking Spanish lessons at Corazon del Pueblo
on First Street and I am working with the Boyle Heights Historical
Society on an exhibition documenting the history of Boyle Heights.

I have often discussed racism and discrimination with my friend of
forty years, Pedro Lujan, a Mexican American sculptor from El Paso,
living in SoHo in New York. When I would describe my sense of
exclusion as a Jew, he would counter saying that he always
thought of Jews as "mainstream."

August 8, 2010 - 11:59 PM - From Allon Schoener

Since you inspired this response, I would like to post it on my blog
with a photo of the two of us together. Do you think that it would
be possible?

August 9, 2010 - 1:47 AM - From Jose Huizar

I truly enjoyed reading your response to my question, "how does
a transplanted jewish new yorker feel about living in a largely
latino neighborhood? I read it with great interest. The class and
racial analysis took me on a provoking journey.

You ... have really attempted to understand and immerse yourself
in Boyle Heights.

After reading your response to my question, it appears that your
background, experience, and professional career, lent you to easily
explore one of LA's oldest, most accepting, and once diverse
neighborhoods. I suspect you enjoy the rich Jewish history that
Boyle Heights has to offer - I also suspect that you enjoy the
challenge in navigating the area given your artistic background
and experience with class and racial issues. You know Boyle Heights
very well for your short time here. Welcome again.

I, similar to your friend Pedro, also viewed Jews as "mainstream"
and perhaps did not make any distinction between being "jewish"
and "mainstream," until sometime in my latter undergraduate
years at UC Berkeley. This, as other things you mention in your
response, deserves additional discussion in the near future ...

How about 7:30pm @ Mariachi Plaza today, Monday, for the
Photo?

August 9, 2010 - 7:18 AM - From Allon Schoener

Again, thank you again for taking the time to respond. With your
permission, I want to include latest response in my blog.

See you at Mariachi Plaza at 7:30 pm.

======================================================
Dan A. Oren, "Joining the Club - A History of the Jews and Yale," New Haven:
Yale University Press, 1985.

From the dust jacket:
"... By the twentieth century, however, prejudice against Jews had intensified,
for they did not fit into the clublike atmosphere that now pervaded Yale --
where diversity was unwanted and overindulgence in book learning was
suspect. The restricted Jewish enrollment that originated at this time
continued until the 1940s, when the Second World War began to liberalize
American -- and Yale -- attitudes."
====================================================

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boyle_Heights,_Los_Angeles

http://www.boyleheightshistoricalsociety.org/page1.php

http://www.jewishhistoricalsociety.org/

http://www.janm.org/exhibits/bh/resources/bibliography.htm

http://www.campus-watch.org/article/id/3005

http://jewsandmuslims.blogspot.com/

===================================================
===================================================

East Side / West Side

2010-07-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

East Side / Sears Tower, Boyle Heights

West Side / Wilshire Boulevard, The Miracle Mile
_______________________________________________

East Side / 1850 East 1st Street

East Side / 1860 East 1st Street

West Side / 6018 Wilshire Boulevard

West Side / Opposite 6018 Wilshire Boulevard / LACMA Entrance
_____________________________________________

Within the space of twenty-four hours, I experienced the Los Angeles East Side/West Side cultural divide.

July 29, 2010 / 6:00 - 8:00 pm - Primera Taza Coffee House, 1850 E.
1st Street / Boyle Heights

July 30, 2010 / 4:00 - 6:00 pm - Edward Cella Gallery, 6018 Wilshire
Blvd. / The Miracle Mile
______________________________________

East Side / West Side / North / South Divisions are common in most cities.

"Sidewalks of New York"

"East Side, West Side, all around the town
The kids sang 'ring around the rosie,
London Bridge is falling down' ...
We tripped the light fantastic on the sidewalks of New York"

http://kids.niehs.nih.gov/lyrics/sidewalk.htm

I was raised in Cleveland and lived on the East Side for seventeen years. I never went to the West Side and knew nothing about it. In New York, we lived on 90th between Park and Lex. Our kids went to the Stephen Wise Free Synagogue nursery school on West 68th, but that was our only contact with the West Side. We would drive through the West Side and never stop.

In Paris, the cultural divide is the Left Bank and the Right Bank: Boulevard St. Michel versus the Champs Elysée.

Paris, Boulevard St. Michel

Paris, Champs Elysée.

In London, it's the East End versus West End

"Peter Ackroyd's London: East versus West End"

In Rome, it's the Spanish Steps versus Trastevere.

Rome, Spanish Steps

Rome, Trastevere
_________________________________________________________

East Side / West Side in LA

So, is LA different from any other great city?

You can provide your own answer.

Mary and Allon After Six Months in LA - A Postscript to the Previous Blog

2010-07-23T11:19:00.000-07:00

Why LA?

On May 15, 2001, Mary had a brain aneurysm incident. She was in the hospital for a month and rehab for another three weeks. She had a remarkable recovery- cooking, reading, driving and leading a normal life. About three years ago, she realized that she could no longer drive. Two years ago, she could no longer cook. Her ability to function normally began to disappear. By the middle of last year, we realized that we could not anticipate improvement.

We had to move. Our son, Abe, lives in Napa. We wanted to be somewhere near him, but not on his doorstep.Through friends in LA, we heard of Hollenbeck Palms. In September 2009, we came to check it out and decided to move.

Hacienda Hollenbeck

We moved into Hollenbeck Palms on January 15, 2010. "Hacienda Hollenbeck" is Mary's appellation. Our brand new 1,000 square foot apartment in Magnolia Court had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and full kitchen. It was spacious and attractive.

Without going into detail, the transition was a rough road. Mary had previously been diagnosed as having dementia. The disorientation of the move, attempting to accommodate oneself to a new environment and a new city were too much for her. At this point, our lives were truncated. Mary moved into Hensel Hall, the skilled nursing section, and I remained in Magnolia Court in our apartment. We either have lunch or dinner together every day and we go on junkets in the car several times a week.

Our First Seder in LA

Never wanting to be anything but a Jew, I was pleased to learn that having a Passover seder was a recent tradition established by head nurse Camille Goldsmith. It was a very nice affair that made both of us feel more at home here.

Higashi Hongamji Bhuddist Temple Obon Festival

Mary and I went to this event with two Japanese American women who live at Hollenbeck Palms. The festival took place in the temple parking lot in Little Tokyo. We spent five hours in blistering sun, but it was great. While there, I said to Mary, "I am beginning to like LA." She concurred.

The two most outstanding events for us were Taiko drummers and Sumo wrestlers.

Above: Taiko drummers performing in Central Park. Although not the same group that we saw, the performance was similar.

Sumo Wrestling Comes to LA - The most popular videos are here

Above: Sumo wrestlers. We saw an informal version of this in the church parking lot.

Grafton, Vernont 1972

After Fifty-one Years of Sleeping in the Same Bed Together, What is Like to Sleep Alone?

Not much fun!

Hollenbeck Palms, 2010

What's Next?

LA is not where either one of us thought that we might live. However, we're here and we're finding out that it is a pretty good place to spend the waning years of our lives.

For our 25th annersary book, my Yale class did a survey asking what people planned to do on retirement. The majority had dreams of yachts, tennis courts and golf courses. There was one person who answered that "he never intended to retire." ME.

Hollenbeck and LA meet our needs. We get full support from Hollenbeck. Mary is in good hands and I am able to explore the potentials of a professional life. Being the new kid in town, is not easy because you know nothing of history, geography and the parameters of behavior. You are lacking a network of contacts that fuel a professional life. I have lived in Cambridge, Cincinnati, Cleveland, London, Manilla, New Haven, New York, and San Francisco. So, I have had some experience in adapting to urban environments. There are always some parallels as well as many differences.

Coffee Shop, Union Square, New York, 2005

And What About New York?

A friend who has lent us her apartment at Park and 90th is planning to go to Japan in November and has suggested that her apartment might be available. If that does not work out, there are friends in SoHO who have a loft where I can stay. If I go, I will have to cope with some guilt and concern about Mary's lonliness.

Evaluating My First Six Months in LA

2010-07-22T18:28:00.000-07:00

My Passport
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

What is LA?

Although I have yet to figure it out, there is the City of Los Angeles and there is Los Angeles County and within the boundaries of the city and the county, there are some 80 additional cities all which have independent governments.

It was recently revealed by The Los Angeles Times that in Bell, a city with a population of 36,664 according to the 2000 census, city manager Robert Rizzo was paid nearly $800,000 annually, making him the highest paid city manager in California and possibly the nation. The police chief gets $457,000. Both have lucrative pensions.

http://laist.com/2010/07/22/city_of_bell_to_hold_emergency_meet.php

In March 2000, a shipment of 55 Oscar statuettes was stolen from a trucking company loading dock in Bell.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
LA = Amoeba = LA = Amoeba = LA

Above: NASA view of Los Angeles. Below: Microscopic enlargement of an amoeba.

From the COLUMBIA ENCYCLOPEDIA, "Amoebas constantly change the shape of their bodies as a result of a phenomenon known as ameboid movement involving the formation of temporary extensions."

In AMERICA DAY BY DAY, with regard to Los Angeles, Simone de Beauvoir said," ... one feels that the most sophisticated city in the world is surrounded by indomintable nature. If human pressure were relaxed for even a moment, the wild animals and giant grasses would reclaim possession of their domain."

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My Scorecard / NY vs LA

Above: View of Manhattan from the Observation Deck at the Empire State Building. Below: View of Downtown LA from the Cafe at the Griffith Park Observatory.

Newspapers

I have been reading The New York Times since I began to read. As a kid, we lived in suburban Cleveland. My father was an avid Times reader. A local drugstore would deliver the Sunday edition of The Times throughout our suburban enclave. Wherever I have gone and wherever I have lived, I have managed to read the The Times every day. I am doing the same thing here in LA.

Unfortunately, I can't read The Los Angeles Times. I know that it was once a great paper - at one point, it captured more Pulitzers than The New York Times; however, it is not the case now. The paper's staff has been decimated by the current owners. As a result, The Los Angeles Times is now a tragic shadow of its former self. I read LA Observed, an excellent on line report, as often as I can.

Climate and Air Quality

We arrived in mid-January; since then, there were some mild, cold days in February and March with off and on again rain during what is called "winter." I doubt that I will ever see another snowstorm, nor will I experience 103 degree heat and 100% humidity in the summer. Here, the sun shines every day. In the summer, it gets hot, but there is no humidity, so it is tolerable.

We live in proximity to freeways; there are the contingent issues of pollution and dirt. According to a May 2009 report of the "Most polluted American cities" prepared by the American Lung Association, Los Angeles ranked: fourth in short term particle pollution, first in ozone pollution and third in year round particle pollution. New York did not make it into the first ten on any of these lists.

Noise

Police and fire sirens are inescapable in any large urban environment. In LA, they can be heard day and night. Sebastian Junger just returned from having spent months making a film on the battlefield in Afghanistan; he said that he was freaked out by New York's middle of the night street noises.

With regard to to the constant hum of the freeways, my wife, Mary, suggested that we imagine
that we're at the sea shore listening to the surf.

Subway

Every major city in the world has a subway - some better than others - some one hundred years old - some brand new. The New York subways system is over one hundred years old. The LA system is brand new. Everyone rides the subway in New York. In LA, mass transit is for the working class; the freeways are for the middle class and upper classes.

LA is developing a new urban mass transit system - subways and busses. So far so good. The trains are comfortable and clean. They run on time. Not necessarily to my taste, some of the stations are spectacular. The signage is good - obviously patterned after Massimo Vignelli's New York subway signage. The buses run on compressed natural gas. They are ubiquitous and frequent.

http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/09/opinion/la-oe-0609-rutten-20100609

http://www.movela.org/

Parks

Central Park - It is pedestrian friendly and bike friendly I have
covered every square inch of it in good weather and bad, in good
times and bad. When Jean Claude and Christo's "Gates" graced
the park in orange splendor, I walked along every single path from
59th to 110th Streets. When we lived on East 90th Street between
Park and Lex, I would ride my bike in the park from April through
November to my office my office at Broadway and 57th Street.

Griffith Park - Accessible primarily by car, but offers many opportunities
to experience nature in the midst of the city. I want to explore it and know
it better. The Wolfgang Puck cafe on the Observatory terrace is pure joy.
Wonderful inexpensive salads and sandwiches with spectacular views - like
the one above.

Libraries

The New York Public Library - It is one of the world's great libraries
and has been my first stop for research when I initiated a new project. I
have done exhibitions there and spoken there. Although I would love to
have been a benefactor, I could never afford it. I have been a member for
many years.

The Los Angeles Public Library - I know that it is a great resource
which I will investigate and utiize. Although I am not a celeb watcher, I
had one there. Before moving to LA, I was doing research in the photo
collection. As I was standing at the librarian's desk, I looked to my
left and recognized a familiar face - Michael Douglas. I glanced at him;
he smiled and said "Hi."

Book Fairs

NewYork Is Book Country - A stretch of Fifth Avenue in Midtown
was turned over to the publishing industry. I did book signings there
a couple of times. Unfortunately it is not going to happen this year.

Harlem Book Fair - A stretch of 135th echoes its midtown predecessor.
As the Fifth Avenue event feels like Fifth Avenue, the one in Harlem
echoes the dynamism of the community. I did a book signing there, too.

The LA Times Book Fair - I will never forget my first day at the Book
Fair on the UCLA campus;. It was invigorating and inspiring. It
obliterated many of my negative preconceptions about LA. I wrote to
David Ulin, the LA Times book editor, "It was excellent and opened
my eyes to LA's vibrant intellectual life. Orchestrating a blend of high
culture with populism, the festival demonstrated that the two could
be joined effectively without condescending. Organization and
management were outstanding."

Lectures

I never went to the 92nd Street Y lectures. Disinterested in dinner party circuits, I had no need for an inventory of witty remarks from famous people. I went to lectures where substance prevailed: NYPL. NYHS, The Met, MCNY and similar institutions.

My first LA book author lecture was a riot. I had gone to an opening at the Santa Monica Museum of Art. As I left, I heard a lot of racket across the Bergamot Station courtyard.
I walked in. There was food and wine. I helped myself and sat down. Then, I asked a stranger
if he could tell me what was happening. He said that Jane Smiley was going to interview Dave
Barry. What a team! I was in stitches for an hour.

LA ALOUD is first class. I have gone to several programs including Bill Boyarksy and Peter Jones on "Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times." Boyarsky was an important cog in the
machine for many years, He spoke with authority. Peter Jones made an excellent film. Pam
Morrison is a great interviewer. For someone who had no background, I was introduced to the history of major players in the history of LA and the vicissitudes of the paper that I refuse to read.

Film Forum

In a series of dark cavernous spaces with uncomfortable seats, poor projection and unsatisfactory sound, it provides the best film programming available on the East Coast.
It appears that there are dozens of venues where good film programming is available in LA. I
have gone to several. I know that a plethora of good film programming awaits me.

Municipal Art Society

I have been involved with the MAS for forty years as: a member, speaker, program organizer,
consultant and grants administrator providing funding. Under MAS auspices, I took a group of
architects and planners to Paris to examine it as an evolving global city.

http://mas.org/

I joined the Los Angeles Conservancy, an organization with similar objectives.

http://www.laconservancy.org/

Farmers Markets

To my mind, the Greenmarket in Union Square remains the pen ultimate fresh food market in the United States. I have gone to several neighborhood farmers markets in LA, but have not been too impressed. I have heard that the Santa Monica farmers market is exceptional. I hope to get there soon.

Dean & Deluca

There is nothing else like it. Joel Dean died and Giorgio Deluca opened a restaurant. What they
created, revolutionized food merchandising in this country. Fortunately, the current corporate
owners want to preserve the authenticity of the brand.

http://www.deandeluca.com/

Years ago, I asked Giorgio if he had a model. He said that it was Peck in Mllan.

http://www.peck.it/

Even though I much admire Dean & Deluca, I have to admit that Peck outclasses it. Peck is the most extraordinary food store that I have ever seen. In truffle season, I had the audacity to inquire about fresh truffles. They had them all. It was an exercise in frustration.

Maybe there is something like Dean & Deluca in LA. I don't know and hope that I discover it.

Yoga

Swami Satchidananda has been my guru for over forty years. The IYI on West 13th was my sanctuary. I even managed to get to Yogaville when Swamaji was still alive.

http://www.yogaville.org/

Having discovered the Vednata Society in the Hollywood Hills,

http://www.vedanta.org/

both Mary and I have found our sanctuary. At least once a week, we
meditate for an hour and a half and leave as new people.

Off Beat

I have become a groupie at Farmlab's Metabolic Studio Public Salon Series.

http://www.farmlab.org/

The brain child of Lauren Bon, creator of NOT A CORNFIELD

http://notacornfield.com/

They begin every Friday at noon with free lunch. They have provided me with
insight and connections to creative spirits whom I would otherwise never meet.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Adaptation

From a friend, a native Angeleno living in New York:

"I find LA (like NYC), because it's so large, to be more mysterious and those surprises make it more pleasant. Roma verso Firenze."

We live at Hollenbeck Palms in in Boyle Heights. We go to the Mariachi Plaza farmers market. I have met Councilman Jose Huizar and he recognizes me when he pushes his kid in a stroller through Mariachi Plaza. I have a card at the Benjamin Franklin Branch of the LA Public Library at 2200 East First Street. I am a member of Corazón del Pueblo, a community arts collective where I am taking free Spanish lessons.

Blown Away at LACMA, But ...

2010-07-13T10:52:00.000-07:00

Above: Broad Contemporary Art Museum.. Below: Resnick Pavillion (opening Fall 2010)

Everyone admits that LACMA (Los Angeles County Museum of Art) is a sprawling collective mess; the administration is developing a master plan to correct its deficiencies. However, LACMA does possess some stunning jewels. I want to focus on one of them.

My recent visit to the Broad Contemporary Art Museum, a stand alone structure adjacent to Hancock Park facing Wilshire Boulevard's Miracle Mile, possesses 60,000 square feet of exhibition space on three floors. The yet-to-open Resnick Pavilion for temporary exhibitions abuts its rear flank. Both buildings were designed by Renzo Piano. From my perspective, the Broad Museum is an exceptionally successful museum design. Here, the architectural design does not detract from the art on display; it enhances it. The galleries are spacious, occupying a full floor without any structural impediments. On the top floor, natural light filtering in from the skylights above provides what might be described as "art friendly" natural illumination. Such clarity of design with obvious sympathy to the art to be presented is a rare commodity.

With so many boards of trustees, civic leaders and museum directors seeking to replicate the "Bilboa effect," (http://www.guggenheim.org/bilbao) a number of curiosities have joined the global inventory of art museums. Many of them are manifestations of an egocentric architectural style - planned to enhance the reputation of the designer - hardly satisfactory environments in which to display works of art. Although I have yet to see it, I am willing to accept Michael Kimmelman's (The New York Times roving European cultural critic) negative assessment of MAXXI, Rome's new museum of 21st Century Arts, designed by starchitect Zaha Hadid. Kimmelman found it to already look dated and out of style. Beyond that, I would say that the design of the exhibition galleries appears to overwhelm anything that might be displayed in them.

Above: MAXXI, Rome, exterior and interior.

Above : Third floor gallery, Broad Contemporary Art Museum.

Not so at the Broad Museum of Contemporary Art. Having a positive assessment of its architecture, I want to turn to the art on display. My knowledge and familiarity with the contemporary international art scene is like a piece of Swiss cheese. However, I can recognize the names and work of some of the major players. Andy Warhol has always been an admired favorite. Although they can't be seen in the photo above, there is a group of his Kellogg's Corn Flakes stenciled corrugated paper boxes stacked lazily in a corner of the gallery. Seeing these boxes, reminded me of an opening in Leo Castelll's gallery. Andy had just completed his cow wallpaper. It covered the walls of the tight little space. There were silver helium filled balloons floating through the gallery space. The installation of the Kellogg's corn flakes boxes at the Broad successfully captured the informality with which much of Andy's work was displayed.

Thanks to a flawless installation in a majestically neutral space, I found my indifference to Jeff Koons' work obliterated and transformed into admiration. On a generational basis, he is an inheritor of Duchamp / Warhol traditions. In the gallery view above, it is possible to see his inflatable blue puppy. Although banal, I found myself standing in the middle of the gallery admiring it. Having seen Koon's work in cramped locations in New York competing with other artists, it always looked a bit tacky. Not here. To me, it made a clear and forceful statement in the land of Disney. More than the inflatable, I was struck by his multi-colored ceramic Bernini simulation. It echoed the sculptural figures adorning Bernini's fountain in the Piazza Navona in Rome. It was "Bernini enhanced."

"Pure Beauty," the work of the prolific John Baldesdari, occupied the entire second floor. Having heard his name in the context of the LA art scene, I had never seen any of his work.

This is a very impressive installation of an innovative multi-faceted artist who manages to make a series of unique statements of considerable import. To say that it is a visually stunning exhibition, would be an understatement. To stay that the exhibition confirms his stature as a major American artist would be honest.

Several of Richard Serra's grandiose sculptures occupy the entire first floor. Again, the neutrality of the space, adds to the majesty of the experience.

So, I was blown away by the quality and power of the art and architecture at the Broad Museum of Contemporary Art. What's the but? How does this museum and the art presented rate in relation to a New York museum experience. As good as it might be, the LA museum experience remains thin. Flash predominates substance. Whenever you go to an exhibition at MoMA or The Met in New York, you are exposed to layers of art - some masterpieces, some not - going to and from your chosen exhibition. Even though you might not pause to view any art along the way, you know that what you are going to see or have seen fits into the context of human creativity. The same could be said of viewing exhibitions in major museums or equally suitable venues in London, Paris, Florence, Milan, Venice, Rome, Berlin and Vienna.

In 1964, Walter Mondale adopted "Where's the Beef?" as his campaign mantra in an effort to defeat the insurgent Gary Hart who was seeking the Democratic Presidential nomination. As exhilarating as my experience at the Broad Museum of Contemporary Art might have been, I am afraid there was no "beef" there.

The Farmers Market Opens in Mariachi Plaza

2010-07-12T18:08:00.000-07:00

Mariachi Plaza, a stop on the Gold Line subway, is about a quarter of mile from where we live in Boyle Heights. Below ground, one finds a sparkling new cavernous subway station that must be buried at least 100 feet below street level.. Above ground, there is an extensive plaza adorned with a Spanish colonial band stand, the identifying symbol for the congregations of free-lance mariachis awaiting clients.

The Farmers Market is located to the rear of the plaza. We went to shop for produce. There were a half dozen stands with assorted fruit and vegetables, one of which had a large banner proclaiming that they did not use pesticides. Although my preference is for certified organic produce, I have learned that obtaining state certification is a long and complicated process and that few of the vendors who come to farmers markets are certified even though many of them might follow organic or organic related processes. The Santa Monica farmers market is the exception. I understand that the majority of the vendors are certified organic. Someday, I will get there. For the moment, the Mariachi Plaza Farmers Market meets my needs. As usual, I bought too much, but I figure that I am helping sustain people whose labors enhances my life.

The Mariachi Plaza Farmers Market was the creation of Jose Huizar, Councilmember of the Fourteenth District. By chance I met him at an event at Hollenbeck Palms the previous night. He orchestrated the ribbon cutting ceremony which was documented by the local ABC TV News outlet. Councilmember Huizar is a dynamic leader who was born and raised in this neighborhood. When he completed his official duties, he came to the bench where Mary was sitting and greeted her. By the time that he arrived, we had deposited the remains of at least a hundred peanut shells on the pavement. I apologized and he assured me that his crew of green uniformed high school age assistants would clear way our garbage. They did.

Then, the stage was animated with a troupe of a dozen white costumed female dancers who performed traditional Mexican dances flawlessly. Next came a young rock group; they said that they had graduated from high school only three years ago. They were loud, dynamic and rhythmic. Good to listen to. There was a break in which djs from a local radio station performed. Then, more live musicians.

How can I describe my reaction? I no longer felt like a stranger in my new neighborhood. A friend from Hollenbeck Palms who accompanied us, said that, he Mary and I were the only Caucasians. That might have been true. I was not aware of it, nor do I think was anyone else except my friend. Belonging to our new neighborhood, was a wonderful feeling that continues to resonate.

As the sun set around 7:30pm, I had a hard time getting Mary to leave. We'll be back next week.

Orpheum Theatre, Round Two

2010-06-05T09:12:00.000-07:00

Left: Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1939.
Right: Interior, The Orpheum Theatre, Los Angeles, about 1928.

It was the summer of 1949. Fresh out of Yale with two degrees, I came to New York to make my fortune. Unfortunately, the first Post World War II recession was in full swing. Good jobs were non-existent. Someone told me that the Yale Club had an employment agency. Naïve me, I thought that there could only be "good jobs" at the Yale Club. The best they had to offer was what was called a "Junior Salesman" for the Royal Typewriter Company. I took it. My boss was the grizzled Howard Forshay from Queens, a veteran of the typewriter wars. His daily ritual was leading the morning pep talks. "Tell them how great the Royal typewriter is and say whatever makes the competition look bad." My job was to work under a salesman with an assigned territory and to place demonstration typewriters in offices. Later, that salesman would return to hopefully convince the office manager to buy one. Junior Salesmen were promised a percentage of the salesman's commission if the sale was consummated. Unscrupulous salesmen shuffled the paperwork so that junior salesmen never got their share of the commission.

Two weeks on the job, I knew that I made a disastrous error. So, I had to make the best of a bad deal. After the ritual pep talk, I was on the street supposedly selling typewriters. Having been familiar with the exhibitions and programs at MoMA, I knew that there were daily film showings from the museum's collection of historically significant films. The MoMA film showings were my salvation. The Royal Typewriter job lasted about nine months until I was fired.

During that nine months, I must have seen all of the films in the then MoMA collection. Films were shown in the basement auditorium. Although MoMA was multiplexed in one of its many building programs, the basement auditorium remains with a benefactor's name attached. This was 1949, only twenty years after the birth of sound movies. Historic films were silent. On the auditorium floor to the left of the screen stood an upright piano. There sat the indefatigable Arthur Kleiner, a Viennese refugee, who played prescribed scores as well as his own compositions accompanying these films. Later in my career, when I was working with the MoMA Film Library, I got to know Arhtur Kleiner and told him how he and the MoMA film collection provide solace during my desperate early days in New York.

For years, I assumed that a piano provided the appropriate accompaniment and that Arthur Kleiner's piano scores were as authentic as it could get. Little did I know that most movie theaters showing silent films in the 1910s and 1920s first had live orchestras, then either pianos or what were called "theater organs." Seven thousand of these generic theater organs populated an equal number of movie palaces in cities from coast to coast. They were 2,000 to 3,000 seat theaters with huge screens below proscenium arches surrounded on their flanks by opera style boxes complemented by huge balconies that often rose to six stories. Movie-going in the teens and twenties was a glorious experience transporting legions of city dwellers: new immigrants, former farmers and factory workers from their humdrum existence into a world of glorious fantasy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Movie_theater

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theatre_organ

Last Wednesday night, I attended the Los Angeles Conservancy's "Last Remaining Seats" event at the Orpheum Theatre on Broadway in Downtown LA. The film being shown was Herbert Brenon's 1924 silent classic, "Peter Pan."

No anemic piano accompaniment here! We were subsumed with blasts of sound emanating from the Orpheum's recently refurbished 1928 Mighty Wurlitzer organ masterfully orchestrated by Robert Israel. He manipulated the keys, the pedals and the stops to create appropriate sounds from the organ's battery of metal and wood pipes capable of simulating over 14,000 orchestral sounds.

For me, it was a profound experience. I witnessed the recreation of an authentic historical sight and sound phenomenon, sharing it with with the approximately 3,000 others in the audience. I thought that I had been transported back to the 1920s. The film, its organ accompaniment and the theater itself might not have been original, but they were as close as it was possible to experience the original.

Last year, my wife and I went to Ostia Antica, the partially restored excavation of the ancient port of Rome. Having been to Pompeii several times (It was originally a Hellenistic city.), I consider Ostia Antica a more compelling recreation of a Roman urban experience. Here you see the extensive remains of a two thousands year old Roman urban complex with virtually complete fragments of "insula," the multiple story structures with shops at the street level and residences above. You see the original forum, Ostia's civic center, with fragments of religious and secular structures arrayed around this open space.

http://www.google.com/images?hl=en&rlz=1G1GGLQ_ENUS247&q=ostia+antica&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=UCowTMiBCtL9nAfOkIHXAw&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CFIQsAQwAw

As you amble along remnants of paved streets, gazing from side to side, you begin to believe that you have been transported into a bygone era. That is how I felt at the Orpheum last Wednesday night when I saw "Peter Pan" accompanied by a Mighty Wurlitzer.

Can LA Do It Better Than New York?

2010-06-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

Reluctantly, my answer is "yes." Last Saturday night, I went to see "Il Gottopardo," (The Leopard) at the Orpheum Theater on Broadway in Downtown LA, a feature of the LA Film Festival.

Having been maintained and restored, the Orpheum exudes the opulence of a bye-gone era - the birth of mass movie audiences - when it opened in 1926.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orpheum_Theatre_%28Los_Angeles,_California%29

The Orpheum was the perfect setting in which to see "Il Gottopardo," Lucio Visconti's lavish masterpiece which evokes the decadent lifestyle of aristocratic Sicilians in the 19th century. The newly restored print was being premiered in LAto a full house six hours after it had been premiered in Bologna to an audience of 6,000 in an open air plaza. At The Orpheum, there was a brief introduction explaining the technical feats accomplished in transforming the original negatives into an improved film satisfactory for projection. Before the film was seen on the huge horizontal screen which must be 20 feet by 80 feet, two of Burt Lancaster's daughters were recognized in the audience. They stood to a round of applause.

Saying LA and New York in the same breadth, connotes a bifurcated American film industry. They compete regularly on the basketball court and baseball field. The museums are not in the same league. I can't evaluate symphonies nor operas, but I can evaluate cultural experiences. This one was profound. It could not have been presented under better circumstances to a more attentive and sympathetic audience who responded at the appropriate moments with sounds of awe and approval.

Such an event never could have happened in New York.

There is no extant film venue in New York equivalent to the Orpheum. Years ago, I recall having gone to movie theaters like the Loew's 86th Street. The auditorium space exuded luxury; the walls, ceilings and chandeliers evoked echoes of palatial Baroque grandeur. There was a legion of similar houses throughout the New York Metropolitan area.

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/31541/

No longer standing, Loew's 86th was first carved into a multiplex, eventually demolished and replaced with pedestrian residential architecture.

The motion picture palace was invented in New York. The Regent Theater which evoked an image of The Doges Palace in Venice opened in February 1913 on Seventh Avenue and 116th Street in Harlem.

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/6818/

Harlem Magazine, May 1913, raved about the new theater. “Harlem’s latest and handsomest entertainment house marks an altogether new era in the motion picture world, as it is,without question the largest and most completely equipped motion picture playhouse yet opened. For beauty and convenience it surpasses many of the Broadway theaters. It has been the intention of the Regent management to give New York Theatre goers something new in its form of entertainment in a combination of the finest selection of photoplays that can be produced and music of high and pleasing quality.”

Like the Orpheum in LA, The Regent is still standing, but has not shown films for over forty years. Since 1964, it has been the home of the First Corinthian Baptist Church. It is in good condition. There have been some modest alterations of the interior and the church maintains the exterior. Loew's 175th Street in Washington Heights on New York's Upper West Side is another masterpiece of cinema architecture that has survived. It was a venue for a charismatic preacher, "Reverend Ike."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reverend_Ike

Revered Ike moved to LA in 2007 and died in 2009. The building has an uncertain future.

Why it couldn't happen in New York

To the best of my knowledge, there are no former movie palaces with seats numbering in the thousands still functioning as motion picture theaters in New York. Yes, there are many venues for viewing films in New York, but they are small to modest spaces with small screens (often fuzzy projection) and imperfect sound. Opening in 1932 with 5,933 seats, Radio City Music Hall, originally conceived as motion picture / vaudeville house, was then the largest movie house in the world.

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/55/

In 1981, Francis Ford Coppola presented Abel Gance's 1927 silent classic "Napoleon" for three nights. His father conducted the American Symphony Orchestra. Perhaps someone could perform a similar feat there?

For the foreseeable future, New Yorkers are going to be limited to viewing films in constricted locations. In Los Angeles, it is a different story. The website "Los Angeles Movie Palaces" provides an inventoryand report of the current status of theaters throughout the area.

http://sites.google.com/site/losangelesmoviepalaces/

Although LA wins hands down over New York on this one, there are others where it does not fare as well. Keep tuned; they are my future agenda.

The New York Minute / The LA Hour

2010-05-22T19:30:00.000-07:00

In New York, everyone is in a rush. "The New Yorki Minute" defines a state of mind shared by most New Yorkers; it distinguishes them from the rest of the world.

Here James Gandolfini defines it:

Legend has it that the term originated in Texas around 1967. New Yorkers were credited with doing in a second what Texans would do in a minute. Johnny Carson described it as the interval between a Manhattan traffic light turning green nd the guy behind you honking his horn.

The Eagles wrote a song about it.

"In a New York minute
Everything can change
In an New York minute
Things can get a little strange
In a New York minute
Everything can change
In a New York minute"

God forbid that anyone keep you waiting in New York. For more than forty years, I have had a 98% on time rating. If and when I am running late, like everyone else, I call. Depending on whatever your status within whatever heirarchy to which you might belong, you are allowed a five to fifteen minute window. If you are stuck in a cab in midtown, you can get out and walk or run. If you are stuck in a subway, you can't call and you have no options. If you're stuck in a tunnel or on the FDR or Wst Side Highway, it is like being stuck in the sunway. You sweat it out and hope that you have not ruined whatever opportunity might have been waiting for you.

In LA, I have yet to hear anyone say, "I'm in a hurry." No one seems to worry if you are not on time. A freeway traffic jam or accident is always a good excuse and it probably is treue. In 1947, Evelyn Waugh gave a true Brit's evaluation of the Angelenos' sense of time saying that: "it's not the leisure of Mone Carlo or Palm Beach where busy men go for a holiday. It is the leisure of those whose work is quite finished. Here on the ultimate sunset shore they lay themselves down, warm their old limbs and open thsir scaly eyes three times a day to browse on lettuce and avocado pears."

On Becoming an Angeleno

2010-05-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

After three months in LA, I had my first automobile accident. Having driven in New York for more than sixty years, I hve never had an accident. I have had a lot of parking tickets and was once caught in a trap for failing to have my seatbelt connected. I have driven all over Europe, including the left side of the road in the United Kingdom, and on the Autostrade in Italy from Trentino in the North to Siracusa in Sicily. No accidents.

On learning of my accident, one friend said, "Now you're an Angeleno!" Another daid that she had three accidents in the last year, none of which were her fault. Based on my brief exposure to driving in LA, can I say that LA drivers are worse than New York drivers. My emphatic answer is "Yes."

As it runs our statistics might deny my assessment. A 2008 Automobile Club of Southern California study shows that LA/OC traffic crashes cost nearly $11 billion annually. The report states taht, "The Los Angeles/Orange County metropolitan area has the highest 'cost of congestion' and the second-highest 'cost of crashes among all metropolitan areas in the U.S. The highest cost of crashes annually is the metropolitan
area encompassing New York City, Newark, N.J." Who needs statistics when you have attitude?

To get arounrd LA, you need to drive on both the freeways and the streets. On the freeways, you may be traveling at 65mph or stuck in traffic for half an hour or more. Google Maps indicate that a trip from our place in Boyle Heights to downtown Santa Monica is approximately 20 miles and that it can take 26 minutes on the freeway in good traffic and 90 minutes during the rish hour. I have done it twice recently
averaging 25 minutes each way in non rush hour traffic.

On a recent weekend, my wife and I were driving in Santa Monica on Main Street. There were two cars ahead of us. The first ones topped suddenly as a pedestrian darted into a crosswalk. The second one slammmed into the first. In California, pedestrians ahve the right of way. If this had occurred in New York where "jay walking" is accepted social behavior, though not legal, the first car would have proceeded to drive around the pedestrian and avoided being hit from behind. Since I am an inveterate jay walker, I was sympathetic to the driver in the first car.

Everyone characterizes LA drivers as aggressive and fast. Add the insane street marking like the one shown above. Whenever you go on the streets, two lanes can merge into oen without warning or one can become two or thre, again without warning. Sounds like an invitation to disaster!

My accident took place on Sixth Street between Olive and Hill where the grid is similar to Manhattan. Weaving in and out of suddenly transformed lanes, engenders weird driving habits. Mine as well as others. From my perspective, most LA drivers see the streets as extensions of the freeways and drive on them in abandon.

I have to admit that 90% of my New York driving experience has been in Manhattan where the street grid adds a layer of sanity never to be found in LA. Going to Jones Beach, JFK or LaGuardi requires using the Long Island expressways. I have found them to be disconcerting. If I hd been a Long Island, Westchester or New Jersey resident, I might have a different take on driving in LA.

Given what I said above, do I intend to stop driving here? The answer is an emphatic "No." I am going to continue to drive in LA and join the pack as a cautious defensive driver.